Throughout the course of the season, the Shawnee State men's soccer program has proven to be a second half team.
On Saturday afternoon, that fact was, once again, true to form in another dominating offensive display put together by Ron Goodson's unit.
The Bears' Bruno Rovares scored two goals, Kevin de Lange added in a pair of assists on Rovares' blasts, and Mitchell Patchett and Jacob Perry each scored goals -- the latter being the first of his career at SSU -- in a 4-0 victory over NCAA Division III Bluffton on Saturday afternoon in Bluffton.
Shawnee State, whose road victory was also its third consecutive triumph while traveling as a visitor, again held the controls early and often as the Bears posted a ridiculous 39 shots as a unit -- including 24 in the opening half of play alone -- en route to holding a 39-11 advantage on shots and an 18-6 margin in shots on goal. As a result, the Bears at least tripled the amount of shots that the Beavers took in each half of competition.
In addition to winning the shot battles handily, SSU also edged Bluffton in corner kicks (seven to four) and committed less fouls than the Beavers as Bluffton was called for 13 fouls to the Bears' 11.
Despite putting 46 percent of their 39 shots on goal as a unit, Shawnee State, for the fifth straight affair, ended up in a scoreless tie with Bluffton at halftime as the Bears and the Beavers sat deadlocked at a 0-0 tilt.
That all changed thanks to the play of Perry, Rovares, and de Lange. The former and latter, as a matter of fact, teamed up to assist on Rovares' first goal in the 57th minute, which gave SSU the goal it needed to claim the lead.
The scoring, however, didn't cease there.
From the 74th to the 78th minutes, Shawnee State used its deep and talented roster to wear down Bluffton's attack by posting three goals over a four-minute span, with another de Lange to Rovares feed getting the ball rolling in the 74th frame. Patchett and Perry, who both feature strong legs on their own accord, added in solo blasts in the 76th and 78th minutes of action, with the latter scoring on an impressive jaunt from 25 yards away en route to capping off the scoring, fittingly, with a memorable goal -- the first of his career.
Defensively, the Bears proved to be excellent all day as Bluffton, who only notched three shots in the second half, put just six of its 11 shots on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Kade Tomlinson was there to stop all six shots en route to his second consecutive shutout.
Offensively, nine of Shawnee State's 11 starters and 11 SSU players, in all, posted at least one shot on the afternoon, with eight of those 11 placing at least one shot on goal. Rovares' two goals in four shots on goal, and six shots in all, led the way while de Lange, despite not scoring a goal, kept the pressure on by hoisting up 11 shots and five on goal.
Patchett, in addition to his goal, posted three of his five shots on goal while Perry's lone shot on goal in the 78th in two shot attempts rounded out the main leaders for the Bears offensively. Joao Toledo, Michael Rose, Nathan Ewing, Thomas de Graauw (two shots on goal in four attempts), Mark de Graaf, Bryce Romanello, and Eli Maurer also posted at least one shot in the air for SSU during Saturday's contest.
With the victory, Shawnee State (3-2) will turn its attention to a Wednesday evening matchup against West Virginia Tech, which features the SSU men's soccer program's return to Shawnee Turf for the first time since Aug. 29. That match -- which is part of a doubleheader that will see the SSU women's soccer program playing before it -- is slated to start at 7 p.m on Sept. 11.
For more information on SSU Bears Athletics, visit www.ssubears.com.
