Men's Soccer Wins First Season-Opener Since 1996

Kurtis Dilyard

The College of Wooster men's soccer team put any thoughts of another disappointing season aside with a dominating 6-1 season-opening victory over Thiel on Friday afternoon (Sept. 1) at the Case Western Reserve Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio. It marked Wooster's first season-opening win since 1996 when it defeated Walsh 3-2, while the six scores marked the most goals by a Scot team since a 6-0 victory over Goshen on Sept. 14, 1990.

Leading the way for Wooster, who finished 1999 with an overall record of 4-13-3, was junior Eric Ferguson and sophomore Kurtis Dilyard. Ferguson scored the first goal of each half, while Dilyard assisted on a pair of goals, including Ferguson's first, and added one himself.

After the Tomcats' Ryan Stidum knotted the match at one on a penalty kick, sophomore midfielder David Brock broke the tie with an unassisted goal, giving the Scots a 2-1 edge at halftime.

After Ferguson made it a 3-1 game, junior Doug Dahnke scored his first collegiate goal, followed by a Dilyard score. Wrapping up the scoring, junior forward Dan Kelly tallied Wooster's sixth goal in the win, while sophomore Andrew Lewellen and freshmen Christopher Clyde and Robert Rosenfeld each registered a second half assist.

In goal, senior Adam Wegner faced just two shots from Thiel, recording one save, and the Tomcats' Jeremy Rotzell came up with three saves while being bombarded by 25 shots.