PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- The men's soccer program at Shawnee State University scored three goals in the first 10 minutes of its nonconference match against the Cincinnati-Clermont Cougars' men's soccer program and took as much as a 5-0 lead as four different players, including
Sei Aitoku (twice),
Alfie Maynard,
Sekou Mara and
João Coqueti Léo, all hit paydirt for the Bears in what ultimately ended up being a 5-3 win for Shawnee State over UC-Clermont Friday evening at Shawnee Turf in Portsmouth.
Shawnee State, with the Friday evening home victory, improved to 4-1-1 overall in 2025 by outshooting Cincinnati-Clermont by a 25-13 margin in the contest -- including a sizeable 16-4 edge in the opening half of competition. Aitoku scored the first two goals of his Shawnee State career in the win, while Mara added in his maiden SSU goal as well in the triumph. Coqueti Léo scored his first goal of the 2025 season while Maynard added in his second successful goal of the year in the victory.
In all, a total of 23 different players received playing time in the Shawnee State victory -- the second time over Shawnee State's first six matches of the season that the Bears have played at least 23 guys.
'A' for Aitoku
Having proven to be an excellent addition already to the Shawnee State squad with his pace of play, poise and strong character,
Sei Aitoku's impact has been greater than the numbers indicated from a statistical standpoint.
On Friday, Aitoku got plenty of moments in the spotlight.
In the second minute of play, Aitoku hammered a ball home straightaway to the top of the net as a cross from
Nikos Pontikis, which was blocked by a Cincinnati-Clermont player, ricocheted off of the UC-Clermont defender and
Alfie Maynard as well before landing at the feet of Aitoku, who did not hesitate in finishing with his first career goal at Shawnee State to put the Bears ahead by a 1-0 margin.
Aitoku then got the scoring started in the second half. Just nine minutes into the final stanza, a free kick was headed by Pontikis from the near side of the box to Belo Bitencourt at the far side of the box, who headed the ball further up the box. There, a charging Aitoku dashed from the left side -- and scored to put Shawnee State ahead by a 4-0 count at that juncture.
Aitoku, who is from Yokohama, Japan, is one of three players -- along with Bitencourt and Shawnee State starting goalkeeper
Toby Forsythe -- to start and play in all six matches so far in 2025.
Maynard scores 16th career collegiate goal
A strong finisher at the net, Shawnee State senior
Alfie Maynard added on to the Bears' good fortunes early on.
Along with assisting on Aitoku's finish in the second, Maynard scored in the sixth on another Shawnee State advance as a ball was shuffled to Theo Trindade at midfield, who moved quickly up the field before shoveling off a pass to Maynard on the right. Maynard drove into the box, drew Cincinnati-Clermont goalkeeper Cavan Aldridge up, and beat Aldridge with a well-placed ball into the left side of the net, corner pocket, for his 16th career goal as a collegiate athlete.
Maynard, who has two goals and two assists for the 2025 season, has 16 goals and seven career assists between his time at Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) and Shawnee State, which puts Maynard at 39 career points. Trindade, meanwhile, is up to four career goals and five career assists for 13 points himself at Shawnee State.
Mara strikes
Having already impressed many with his own pace in the offseason, Shawnee State's
Sekou Mara added to the Bears' onslaught in the first 10 minutes of play.
Following a deep kick by Forsythe in goal, the ball bounced twice up the field toward the opposite box, where Mara and a Cincinnati-Clermont defender fought for position. The redshirt freshman utilized his size and strength to fight off the contact, then danced around Aldridge gracefully to finish a ball easily in the 10th, putting the Bears in front by a 3-0 margin.
Mara, who played his high school soccer at Miami Trace HS in Washington Court House, is just a redshirt freshman.
Coqueti Leo finishes off scoring
Not done making his impact yet, Aitoku ended up contributing to one additional goal. Taking a corner kick in the 66th minute, Aitoku lofted a well-placed ball to the center of the box, and Coqueti Léo, who faked out a Cincinnati-Clermont defender twice prior to the corner kick being lofted into the air, timed his run perfectly. Upon touching the ball at his feet, Coqueti Léo proceeded to wind up and center punch a ball home, putting Shawnee State ahead by a 5-0 margin and effectively putting the match away.
The goal was Coqueti Léo's fourth of his career at Shawnee State.
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