The Bethel men's soccer team bounced back from a loss earlier this week with a dominant 5-2 victory over the Crown College Polars. The win propels the Royals to a .500 record once again as they look to find more success in next week's MIAC matchups.
How It Happened:
- The Royals found their way onto the scoreboard just seven minutes into the game as brothers Will and Ryan Swanda worked together to find the back of the Polar net. A free kick gave Ryan the opportunity to send the ball sailing down the field, and Will battled it out in front of the net to tap the ball in for a Royal goal.
- Things were tense yet relatively quiet until the 32nd minute when Jack Hanson won the ball off of a throw-in and dealt Carter Sheard a lengthy thru-ball that sent Sheard from the half line to the 18-yard box. Sheard beat out two Polar defenders and sent the ball sliding past the charging Polar goalkeeper to give the Royals a two-goal advantage heading into halftime.
- The Polars formed some offense in the second half, managing to find the back of the Royals' net at 52:59. But Bethel answered back almost immediately as Ryan Swanda rocketed the ball into the net off of a penalty kick opportunity in the 57th minute. 3-1, Royals.
- Bethel had yet another penalty kick opportunity less than 10 minutes later after a Polar defender committed a tripping foul inside of the box, and Jordan Ross neatly placed the ball into the lower right corner for a fourth Bethel goal.
- Still, the Royals weren't done with scoring. Hanson found a goal of his own at 79:39 with a slick chip over the goalie's arm from just outside of the 6-yard-box.
- The Polars mustered up enough of an offensive effort to find a goal off of a penalty kick opportunity, but the Royals' commanding lead proved too much to come back from.
What's Next:
After several non-conference games to get the season started, the Royals will launch into MIAC play beginning next week with the first game set for Tuesday, Sept. 17. They'll host the St. Olaf College Oles at Ona Orth Athletic Complex with kickoff set for 4 p.m..
