SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - The Lawrence Technological University (LTU) men's soccer team cruised past Rochester College (Mich.) 6-2 in the final game of the 2015 Blue Devil Classic on Sunday in Southfield, Mich.
Lawrence Tech (2-3) fell behind in the sixth minute, as Roman Georgi snuck through the defense to make it 1-0 Rochester.
"We started too flat and slow allowing Rochester to score early," LTU Head Coach Will Dyer said. "Credit to Rochester - third game of the weekend - they came right at us and scored early."
LTU held possession of the ball in the offensive zone for most the first half, having eight shots including Kevin Wright (FR/Linden, Mich.)'s goal that tied the game 1-1 in the 32nd minute. Matt Gibiec (SO/Saint Joseph, MI) had the first of his three assists on the goal.
Tyler Winningham (JR/Canton, MI) broke the tie after he snapped a shot from 25 yards out, going over the head of the keeper and into the net to make it 2-1.
? "We made some changes and settled down and scored twice in the first half," Dyer said. "The second half the boys played much calmer and moved the ball around and scored some goals early so we were able to play our bench a lot more and give our starters a break."
In the second half, the Blue Devils scored three goals in eight minutes, making it 5-1 with 20 minutes left in the game. Santiago Amigo (FR/Madrid, Spain) made it 3-0 after Pablo Ripodas (SO/Navarra, Spain)' corner. Mateus Meira (JR/Rio de Janiero, Brazil) gave LTU a 4-1 lead in the 67th minute as he slipped through the defense and got the ball past the goalkeeper. Alex Nestorovski gave LTU a 5-1 lead on an unassisted goal.
Matt Cunningham (FR/Royal Oak, Mich.)'s goal in the 80th minute, gave the Blue Devils a 6-1 lead. Georgi made it 6-2, following a free kick goal from 22 yards out.
"It was a good win for us, but we are at St Francis on Wednesday," Dyer explains. "They beat us last year 3-1, we're expecting them to come right at us. We need to be mentally ready for them as they are a very well coached and established program.?"
The Blue Devils finished the Classic with a 1-1 record, while Rochester went 0-3 in the three-day showcase.
LTU travels to St. Francis (Ind.) on September 16 at 7 p.m.
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