Men’s soccer stayed undefeated as they crushed the Roberts Wesleyan University Raiders on Tuesday. With six different players scoring goals, the Yellowjackets cruised to a 7-1 win.
Seniors Nate Mickolos, Gary Stom and Colin Fernie controlled the offense for UR. The three stars combined for four goals and four assists.
Mickolos added two goals and one assist while Stom set up two goals and scored once. Fernie recorded a goal and an assist to give the Yellowjackets a early big lead.
Head coach Chris Apple praised his team for an all-around effort by each player.
“I thought that was our most complete game so far this season,” Apple said. “We got outstanding performances across the board and other than the last 10 minutes of the first half, we controlled the game well.”
Mickolos continued his dominant play that earned him a spot on the Second Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American team. His two goals came within the first 21 minutes of the game. Both goals came from great passes from Fernie and Stom. Stom spotted Mickolos in front of an open net and drilled it to him for the goal.
The four other UR goals came from freshman Sean Hantes, sophomore Jeremy Mann and junior Tyler Green. Seniors Nick Mikolenko and Chris Lee each had solo assists in the blowout victory.
Revenge may have played a part in UR’s stellar performance – after losing to the Raiders last year, 2-1, the Yellowjackets were handed their first loss of the season.
Sophomore Paco Corbalan controlled the net once again, allowing one goal throughout the game. With UR’s persistent offensive attack, Corbalan camped out in the goal – not being forced to make a save. The Yellowjackets outshot the Raiders, 21-5.
UR now opens conference play in the University Athletic Association. They host New York University on Saturday. With three years of UAA experience, Nate Mickolos knows his team needs to step up their level of play for the remainder of the season.
“Every UAA game is a battle – NYU has had a great year so far, we are hoping we can take care of business on Saturday,” Mickolos said.
He also knows that he and his senior teammates need to continue to provide goals for UR.
Stom and Mickolos have provided a 1-2 punch that trouble opposing goalies and defenses.
Mickolos credited Stom as a consistent offensive threat that teams need to be very aware of.
“Gary and I need to continue to provide for our team,” Mickolos said. “Gary is one of the most underrated players in the conference and we expect a lot from him as we enter conference play.”
UR will host NYU on Saturday at 1 p.m., and then take on the Rochester Institute of Technology on Tuesday at Fauver Stadium.
Going into conference play with a 7-0 record will have teams gunning for the sixth ranked team in the recent Division III soccer poll.
“I told the guys after the game that the challenge is to bring that level of effort and concentration to every match,” Apple said. “If we push ourselves in that way, we will keep raising our standard of play and that is the goal.”
Rovinsky can be reached at mrovinsky@campustimes.org.
