RADFORD, VA— Winthrop allowed four first half goals and ended up falling 5-0 at Radford, Saturday evening in Big South Conference men's soccer action.
The Eagles made a mistake early and never recovered. Winthrop keeper Tom Banfield tried to clear the ball away to the sidelines as Radford pressured the ball, but whiffed and Iyiola Awosika stole the ball and placed it into the open net seven and a half minutes into the match. It is the sixth time this season that Winthrop has allowed a goal in the first 10 minutes of a game.
Another mistake made it 2-0 in the 11th minute as the defense allowed a punt from Radford keeper Joey Dennis to bounce and as the defenders chased it down, Anthony Payne ran on to the ball and jumped up to head the ball over Banfield, who was charging, and into the net.
Radford (6-4-2, 4-1 BSC) made it 3-0 in the 17th minute after when Awosika netted his second of the match. Payne played a ball that freed up Awosika in the box from an angle and he ripped a shot past Banfield to the far post. The fourth goal was nearly identical in the 35th minute when James Leith was set up for a shot from the same angle and blasted it into the side netting.
Any hopes Winthrop had of getting back into the game ended 30 seconds into the second half as Radford's Bernardo Ulmo scored off a cross from Mike Handlin.
Radford finished with a 14-11 shot advantage and Dennis made four saves to earn a shutout. Banfield and Michael Flato, who entered after halftime, each made one save.
It's the worst loss for the Eagles (4-7-1, 2-3 BSC) since 2003 when they were beaten 8-1 by Coastal Carolina in the semi-finals of the Big South Conference tournament on the very same field.
The Eagles will be back in action on Tuesday, Oct. 19, as they step away from Big South play to take on 25th-ranked College of Charleston at Eagle Field at 7 p.m.
