Nov. 1, 2009

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PHILADELPHIA - The La Salle men's soccer seniors put on a Senior Day show to remember as the Explorers topped Saint Joseph's 5-1 on Sunday at McCarthy Stadium. The Explorers have now tripled their 2008 win total and stand at 6-9-3 (2-4-2 Atlantic 10) following a two-win weekend to close out the home schedule. The struggling Hawks fell to 0-15 (0-7 Atlantic 10).

The program's seven seniors were honored in a pre-game ceremony: Gene Curran (Yardley, PA/Holy Ghost Prep), Jim Guntle (Great Falls, VA/Georgetown Prep), Corey Inglee (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephen's/St. Agnes), Kevin McGinley (Philadelphia, PA/Father Judge), Ryan Murray (Pittsgrove, NJ/Schalick), Kyle Quigley (Millersville, MD/Severna Park) and Ryan Tadley (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West).

Murray and McGinley made the most of Senior Day as they scored their first career goals, with Murray punching in a second goal as well. Ryan Richter (Southampton, PA/William Tennent) also registered a four-point day and Nick Dundon (Horsham, PA/Wisconsin-Milwaukee) added two assists.

The last time the Explorers scored five goals in a game was on Oct. 1, 2006, when they shut out Massachusetts 5-0 at McCarthy Stadium.

Murray drew first blood in the 14th minute. Dundon sailed a ball down the left side of the field to Murray, who kicked the ball high into the goal for his first career score.

Dundon once again found a goal scorer two minute later when he sent a pass from the 40-yard line over to Richter, who flicked the ball over the head of Hawk goalie Andrew D'Ottavi to put the score at 2-0.

The score held at 2-0 through the rest of the first half. Jeff Pio (Warminster, PA/William Tennent) found the back of the net in the 52nd minute when he headed in a ball off of a corner kick by Richter.

The Explorers pushed the score to 4-0 in the 59th minute when Murray netted his second goal of the game. He took a pass at midfield from Richter and went on a short breakaway to beat out Hawk replacement goalie Bryan Benedict.

The Hawks struck next, as Justin Kohler converted a rebound off of a shot from Colin Baker at the 80:33 mark.

McGinley then scored his first career goal just over three minutes later to round out the scoring. The Hawks' Tom Smart was whistled for a foul and yellow card in the box and the Explorers were awarded a penalty kick. McGinley took the shot, which he sank deep in the right side of the net for the final 5-1 score.

The Explorers held a commanding 20-6 advantage on shots, and a 9-6 lead on shots on goal. They also earned nine corner kicks while limiting the Hawks to just one.

Quigley earned the win in goal and made six saves. D'Ottavi and Benedict split time in goal, with D'Ottavi picking up the loss. Benedict stopped four shots in the second half.

With the win, the Explorers avenged a 1-0 loss they suffered at Saint Joseph's last year, which was on a first half penalty kick.

The emotions showed between the two rivals, as the teams were whistled for a combined 35 fouls - 22 for the Hawks, 13 for the Explorers. The teams also topped last year's card count of nine yellows and two reds, as there were nine yellows and three reds today. The Explorers accounted for five of the yellows, while the Hawks were called for four yellows and the three reds.

The Explorers wrap up the 2009 season on the road next Sunday (11/8) when they travel to the Bronx to take on Fordham at 1:00 PM.