BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting Johnson & Wales University men's soccer team opened the 2019 season with a 3-0 victory over Bridgewater State University on Friday afternoon at Swenson Field.
Johnson & Wales opened the scoring in the eighth minute on an own goal off a corner kick. A BSU defender tried to clear the ball off the line and his attempt deflected in off a teammate.
Just five minutes later, the Wildcats made it a 2-0 game on a header goal from inside the six by sophomore midfielder Nick Gutekunst (East Northport, N.Y.). Freshman midfielder Szymon Gawlick (Newton, Mass.) and senior forward Erik Schneider (Plantsville, Conn.) assisted on the marker which came off a restart.
Freshman forward Garrett Groeling (Nutley, N.J.) staked the visitors to a 3-0 lead in the 35th minute with Gutekunst picking up the assist. Gutekunst slipped a pass between two BSU defenders and Groeling beat the keeper with a shot inside the left post from 14 yards out.
The Bears' best scoring opportunity came in the 53rd minute as a header attempt by freshman forward Will Halben (Attleboro, Mass.) was cleared away by a Johnson & Wales defender with the goalkeeper out of position.
The Wildcats finished with a 9-4 shot advantage as well as a 3-1 edge in corner kick attempts.
Junior goalkeeper Austin Scoggins (Cutchogue, N.Y.) turned aside two shots to record the shutout between the pipes for the visitors. BSU senior Nate Morgado (Dartmouth, Mass.) made one save in the setback for Bridgewater State.
The Bears (0-1) are back in action on Sunday afternoon as they travel to Western New England University for a noontime game with the Golden Bears. The Wildcats (1-0) head to Wheaton College next Wednesday afternoon to take on the Lyons at 4:30.