Malnati powers Men’s Soccer past Erskine
DUE WEST, S.C. - Mars Hill senior midfielder Giovanni Malnati scored two goals and assisted on a third in the match's opening 18 minutes to lead Mars Hill to a convincing 5-1 win over Erskine on a scorching hot Saturday afternoon at Huggins Field. The Lions improve to 2-0 and have scored 11 goals in their first two games. Erskine drops to 1-1 on the season.
Malnati got the scoring started at the 7:30 mark on a blast past Erskine goalie Roberto De La Vina. Less than two minutes later, Malnati assisted on a pass to Stephen Bivens who scored to put the Lions up 2-1. Malnati struck again at 17:56 on an assist from Isaiah Schafer to push the lead to 3-0.
Erskine found a brief ray of light at the 19 minute mark. Luke Boyce scored on a penalty kick, but Mars Hill wasted no time striking back. At 24:57, Rury Caulfield scored for the Lions on a penalty kick to increase the lead back to three goals. Mars Hill took a 4-1 advantage into halftime.
The Lions added a fifth goal at 57:20 on a goal by Tom Allison; he was assisted by Regis Mawire.
Mars Hill managed 31 shots on the afternoon to Erskine's four. Zac Scott started in goal for the Lions and made two saves, while Phillip Dabney played the final 10 minutes and recorded one save. De La Vina made 13 saves for the Flying Fleet.
Mars Hill travels to Limestone on Wednesday. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
