Thursday, October 12
Charleston, Ill.
5:00 PM ET/4:00 PM CT
Liberty University
8-4-0, 3-2-0
4
at
0
Eastern Illinois
2-8-2, 1-4-0
1
2
F
Liberty
3
1
4
Eastern Ill.
0
0
0
Liberty Cruises By Eastern Illinois 4-0
10/12/2023 8:51:00 PM | Men's Soccer
CHARLESTON, ILL. – The Liberty Flames struck for two goals in the first nine minutes of the contest, rolling to a 4-0 victory over the Eastern Illinois Panthers in an Ohio Valley Conference contest Thursday afternoon at Lakeside Field.
The Flames recorded their first shutout of the season and snapped a two-game losing streak with the win.
Michael Huss scored Liberty's first goal during the game's fourth minute and Gora Gora netted the Flames' second goal, placing a corner kick into the top left corner of the net for a 2-0 advantage just nine minutes into the match.
Grayson Gardner scored his first goal of the season, heading a corner kick into the back of the net late in the first half to send Liberty into halftime up 3-0. Freshman Matthew Torrell closed out the Flames scoring with his first goal of his collegiate career in the second half.
Meanwhile, Liberty held Eastern Illinois to three shots in the contest, all in the first half.
The Flames move to 3-2 in OVC play and 8-4 overall. The Panthers dropped their fourth consecutive contest. Eastern Illinois falls to 1-4 in OVC action and 2-7-2 overall.
Scoring Summary
4' – LIBERTY – Michael Huss (Assisted by Leo Conneh)
9' – LIBERTY – Gora Gora (Unassisted)
38' – LIBERTY – Grayson Gardner (Assisted by Elijah John)
89' – LIBERTY – Matthew Torrell (Assisted by Kyle Garnett)
Key Stats & Notes
Next Up
Liberty travels to Evansville, Ind., for an OVC match against the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles on Sunday. Match time at Strassweg Field is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT.
The Flames recorded their first shutout of the season and snapped a two-game losing streak with the win.
Michael Huss scored Liberty's first goal during the game's fourth minute and Gora Gora netted the Flames' second goal, placing a corner kick into the top left corner of the net for a 2-0 advantage just nine minutes into the match.
Grayson Gardner scored his first goal of the season, heading a corner kick into the back of the net late in the first half to send Liberty into halftime up 3-0. Freshman Matthew Torrell closed out the Flames scoring with his first goal of his collegiate career in the second half.
Meanwhile, Liberty held Eastern Illinois to three shots in the contest, all in the first half.
The Flames move to 3-2 in OVC play and 8-4 overall. The Panthers dropped their fourth consecutive contest. Eastern Illinois falls to 1-4 in OVC action and 2-7-2 overall.
Scoring Summary
4' – LIBERTY – Michael Huss (Assisted by Leo Conneh)
9' – LIBERTY – Gora Gora (Unassisted)
38' – LIBERTY – Grayson Gardner (Assisted by Elijah John)
89' – LIBERTY – Matthew Torrell (Assisted by Kyle Garnett)
Key Stats & Notes
- Liberty outshot Eastern Illinois, 12-3, in the contest. The Flames put five shots on goal and allowed the Panthers one shot on frame.
- Liberty held a 7-6 edge over Eastern Illinois in corner kicks. The Flames scored two of their four goals off corner kicks.
- Huss records his fifth goal of the season, a career-high for the forward. He ties six other players for second in goals in the OVC and is third in the conference with 14 points, also a career-high.
- Gora scored his third goal of 2023 to set single-season career highs in goals and points (seven).
- Liberty goalkeeper Owen Moore made one save over the full 90 minutes of the shutout. Eastern Illinois keeper Kyce Toutanji recorded one save in the first half. Chad Smith did not make a save after taking over in the Panthers' goal in the second half.
- Forward Leo Conneh recorded an assist on Huss' goal and leads the OVC with seven assists.
- The Flames have scored three or more goals in seven games this season. Liberty leads the OVC with 30 goals on the season, averaging 2.50 goals per game.
- Like many of the teams in the OVC, Liberty and Eastern Illinois were meeting for the first time on the soccer pitch this afternoon.
Next Up
Liberty travels to Evansville, Ind., for an OVC match against the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles on Sunday. Match time at Strassweg Field is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT.
Team Stats
L U
EIU
Goals
4
0
Shots
12
3
Shots on Goal
5
1
Saves
1
1
Corners
7
6
Fouls
13
8
Scoring Plays
Michael Huss (5)
Assisted By: Leo Conneh
GOAL by L U Huss, Michael Assist by Conneh, Leo.
03:57
Gora Gora (3)
GOAL by L U Gora, Gora.
08:23
Grayson Gardner (1)
Assisted By: Elijah John
GOAL by L U Gardner, Grayson Assist by John, Elijah.
37:01
Matthew Torrell (1)
Assisted By: Kyle Garnett
GOAL by L U Torrell, Matthew Assist by Garnett, Kyle.
88:26
Game Leaders
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's SoccerD
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's Soccer
MF
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's SoccerLiberty Men's Soccer Defeats SIUE
Sunday, October 26
Coach Findley & Casey McCarthy Talk About The Win Over SIUE
Saturday, October 25
Men's Soccer Update w/ HC Kelly Findley
Friday, October 24
Liberty Men's Soccer Defeats Lindenwood
Monday, October 13