Corner kicks lead to seized opportunities
 

On several occasions, the passing of Sei Aitoku on corner kicks allowed Shawnee State to seize opportunities in goal.

Pontikis -- the first recipient of an Aitoku corner kick -- converted in the fifth frame of action as the senior pounced on a header from Aitoku's pass to the far side of the box, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead and establishing a cushion from the get-go.

Seven minutes later, the Bears converted a second Aitoku corner kick into a back-netter -- as the Yokohama, Japan's corner found Pontikis first, then João Coqueti Léo, who punched the ball in on the near side in front of the net for Shawnee State's second goal in the opening 12 minutes of the match.

Then, 21 minutes after that, Belo Bitencourt made it three conversions off of corner kicks -- with Aitoku directly finding the hard-charging Bitencourt, who flew in and headed him Aitoku's ball into the back of the net to put the Shawnee State counter up to a 3-0 margin through 33 minutes of play.

Masanjala mashes two
 

For its next two conversions, Shawnee State turned to a trusted hand to put the contest out of reach.

Taking advantage of a strong run up the middle of the pitch, Cameron Thompson shoveled a pass off to Shawnee State's Melvin Gassama on the near side of the pitch. Gassama, who then entered the box with the ball, kept pressing forward and laid the ball down for Trevor Aviero Masanjala, who fired a ball up into the back of the net to give the Bears a 4-0 lead just 57 seconds after Shawnee State nabbed its third goal.

10 minutes after notching his first goal, Masanjala then fired home a beauty.

Scoring what was perhaps the goal of the night, the senior took a dump off pass from Esau Chavez and nestled a bender that sailed beautifully into the back of the net, giving Shawnee State a 5-0 first half advantage with 1:09 to play in the frame -- which the Bears comfortably took into the locker room.
 

Fittingly putting a stamp on the terrific performance, Aitoku and Pontikis connected one more time in the 72nd minute -- as the former found the latter on a cross from the near side to the far side that Pontikis put in, concluding the Shawnee State win as a result.

Pontikis, who now has three goals for the 2025 season, also has 15 goals, nine assists and 39 points for his Shawnee State career -- while Bitencourt, who holds a new personal career high for goals in a season now with three himself in 2025, has six goals and 15 total points for his career. Coqueti Leo also has six goals for his career now to go along with 13 career points after his second goal of 2025, while Masanjala has four career goals and 11 career points after posting his first multi-goal contest of his Shawnee State career.

Aitoku -- the lead assist man throughout the evening -- is up to a team-high five assists in 2025 and is tied with Pontikis for second on the squad with nine points, while Gassama and Chavez each claimed their first career Shawnee State assists in the win.

Shawnee State will take part in a big week of soccer action that commences Thursday, Oct. 16 at 5 p.m. when the Bears play host to aforementioned Oakland City in a RSC matchup that will take place at Shawnee Turf in Portsmouth.

For more information on the Shawnee State men's soccer program, visit https://ssubears.com/sports/mens-soccer or visit https://www.instagram.com/ssumsoc.