Bears put Shock to sleep; Rodrigues wins first game as SSU MSOC head coach in 9-0 victory

PORTSMOUTH, Ohio -- When a newly hired head coach heads into a home debut, he or she always wants to make a statement of some kind.

It's safe to say that Stan Rodrigues and the Shawnee State men's soccer program did just that Tuesday afternoon against Washington Adventist.

Facing a Washington Adventist Shock men's soccer program that displayed an impressive performance of its own just two days prior in a scant 4-2 loss to (RV) West Virginia Tech, Shawnee State left little doubt as to who the better team was during Tuesday nonconference match.

Seven different players ultimately scored nine SSU goals and Nikos Pontikis, along with Théo Cavaleiro Trindade, scored two times each in a 9-0 rout to give Rodrigues his first win at Shawnee State in an impressive display of soccer on all fronts for the Bears.

The game proved to be a complete domination on Shawnee State's front in every aspect from the opening whistle, as the Bears took 25 shots while putting 15 of those attempts, or 60 percent of SSU's total shots, on frame. The Bears ultimately hammered home nine of those 15 shots on goal -- scoring on an average of three out of every five shots on goal -- to nab another 60 percent clip in that department.

While dominating the pace of the game offensively, Shawnee State was also stout defensively, as the Bears held the Shock to just five shot attempts with none coming on goal.

Guillermo Conejo Martin wows with opening goal

A key piece to Shawnee State's energy throughout the game, and over the last several seasons, Guillermo Conejo Martin was again that from the start of Shawnee State's nonconference match against Washington Adventist.

Scoring perhaps the most highlight-reel worthy goal of the afternoon, Martin pulled off a brilliant bender from 20 yards out, beating a diving try by sophomore Washington Adventist goalkeeper Gregorio Capponi to score an electrifying goal that ultimately set the tone for the entire match.

Tuesday's goal marked the eighth of Martin's career -- and officially gave Shawnee State the lead to stay in the match. The senior has officially scored a goal in every season that he has played for the Bears.

Cavaleiro Trindade gets creative in middle of opening half

Having impressed throughout the early portion of the season with his skill and offensive ability, Théo Cavaleiro Trindade saw his activity result in big-time production on Saturday. The freshman took advantage of excellent passing just outside of the box and used his speed to do the rest, sliding a wonderful finish to the left side to score in the 19th minute to extend the Bears' advantage to a 2-0 tally.

Two minutes later, the standout dropped off a nifty pass to the middle of the box, where a waiting Cameron Thompson finished top shelf off of the feed to join Cavaleiro Trindade by collecting the first goal of his career in the 21st -- making it 3-0 Shawnee State.

Cavaleiro Trindade added the finishing touches on a fantastic day by scoring off of a rebound on a saved Alfie Maynard shot attempt in the 64th, completing a day where he joined Nikos Pontikis to nab a team-high five points.

Pontikis, Maynard end first half, start second half with bang

Speaking of Pontikis, the consistently active captain showcased his leadership abilities with his thrilling finish to the opening half -- as well as a fantastic beginning to the second frame.

First, the senior captain found paydirt on a wonderfully placed corner kick from Darian Rodrigues, who lofted a ball perfectly straight to the senior on a corner that Pontikis headed home inside the left post with 57 seconds left to play in the first half.

The senior then struck again just 17 seconds into the second half of competition, with Pontikis scoring on a sprint to the right post and finishing with finesse again off of an advance by Alfie Maynard. 

Maynard himself got into the scoring act just eight minutes later, scoring in the 53rd minute as Pontikis, advancing down the far side of the field, found Maynard in front of the box to put SSU in front by a 6-0 margin.

For Pontikis, the junior's two goals on Friday -- and his assist to Maynard -- gives the Athens, Greece native nine goals and four assists for his SSU career. Maynard, who played at Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) for two seasons prior to transferring to Shawnee State, scored the 13th goal of his NAIA career and notched his third assist.

Additional

Along with Cavaleiro Trindade and Thompson, João Coqueti Léo nabbed the first goal of his career as the freshman scored on a pass from Marco Riva in the 59th. Then, following Cavaliero Trindade's second goal, Trevor Masanjala, sprinting down the far side, found Riva in front in the 71st to give Riva his third career goal at Shawnee State. Masanjala nabbed his second career assist in the process.

With the victory, Shawnee State (1-2-1) turns its attention to another important nonconference match against Spring Arbor (Mich.) Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. in Spring Arbor.