Army Men's Soccer Opens Up 2021 with a 4-2 Win over La Salle

Thursday, August 26

3 P.M.

Army West Point

1-0-0, 0-0-0

La Salle

0-1-0, 0-0-0

La Salle

Army West Point

Army Men's Soccer Opens Up 2021 with a 4-2 Win over La Salle

August 26, 2021 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

GAME 1

SCORE

Army West Point Black Knights - 4, La Salle Explorers - 2

SCORERS

Army
14:37 - Andrew Guerra (1); Clement, 28:18 - Sean Lee (1); Unassisted, 32:18 - Oscar Pereira (1); Unassisted, 34:45 - Brandon Bryant (1); Pereira
La Salle
19:27 - Ike Hollinger (1-PK), 29:49 - Nigel Buckley (1); Unassisted

RECORDS

Army (1-0-0)
La Salle (0-1-0)

LOCATION

Malek Stadium at Clinton Field - West Point, N.Y.

WEST POINT, N.Y. - In its first match of the 2021 season, the Army West Point men's soccer team (1-0-0, 0-0 PL) came out firing, scoring four first half goals on its way to a 4-2 win over the La Salle Explorers (0-1-0, 0-0 A-10). The win was the first for new head coach, Brian Plotkin and the first of the season for the Cadets.

Army was quick to jump on the attack from the opening kick, working the ball deep into the Explorers' zone to fire off two shots in the first five minutes. The scoring started in the 15th minute, when plebe Andrew Guerra found the back of the net off a feed from Drew Clement.

La Salle came back to tie it up at 1-1 in the 19th minute when Ike Hollinger scored on a penalty kick. Senior captain and goal keeper Jacob Suppiah kept the score even with his first save of the season in the 20th minute.

The tie was broken by Army's Sean Lee, who scored his first collegiate goal after stealing the ball from a La Salle defender and finding the top right corner of the net. The lead would only hold for another 90 seconds as the Explorers' Nigel Quickley scored the equalizer.

The Army bench played a crucial in the heat of the game as three reverses netted goals for the Black Knights, starting with Lee. Oscar Pereira lifted the Cadets to the win with a goal in the 32nd minuted, followed by a goal from Brandon Bryant in the 34th, to seal the victory. Pereira earned the assist in Bryant's first collegiate goal.

La Salle kept putting the pressure on the Army defensive back line, who countered with a strong, shutout performance in the second half. The Explorers best opportunity came in the 53rd minute, when Suppiah recorded a huge penalty kick save to keep the two-goal advantage. Suppiah finished his first start of the season with seven saves to help keep La Salle at bay.

Army would hold on to the 4-2 lead to secure its first win of the 2020-21 season.

Coach's Corner
"It was a great result for our guys, they worked very hard for this win today." said head coach Brian Plotkin. "La Salle was a great opponent and Coach [Taylor] Thames is doing a great job over there, you can see it already."

"We responded well after a crazy six-goal first half, which we were fortunate enough to be on the better end of. We were able to lock it down on the back line in the second half. I'm just really proud of the guys for digging deep and finding a way to maintain the lead and get the win in the end."

Inside the Box Score

Plebes Andrew Guerra and Brandon Bryant both recorded their first collegiate goals
Suppiah finished the game with seven saves with one being on a penalty kick
Army's four first-half goals was the first time the team accomplished the feat in over a decade.
Oscar Pereira totaled three points with a goal and an assist in the opening match

Up Next
Army will have the weekend off before returning to Malek Stadium for another non-conference matchup against Fairleigh Dickinson Monday, Aug. 30 at 5 P.M.

FOLLOW ALONG
For complete coverage of Army West Point men's soccer, follow the Black Knights on Twitter and Instagram at @ArmyWP_MSoccer and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.