Adam Kelly | Echo
The Taylor men's soccer team got its first win of the season, 4-0, over the University of Michigan-Dearborn (UMD) Wolverines Wednesday night at New Stadium.
"We did what we wanted to do; we kept the ball a lot, defended well and didn't give up too many shots," said head coach Gary Ross. "The effort, pressure and the goals by (Miller) make us feel better about all the stuff we did right."
The Trojans came into the contest with a chip on their shoulder, to try and get that first win of the season, and they took control early. They maintained possession of the ball right away and used it to their advantage, putting pressure on the Wolverine defense. Players fired 19 shots in the game and 10 of those on goal. Taylor also tallied 11 corners to help maintain the pressure on the Wolverines.\
Junior forward Tim Miller led the attack for the Trojans, scoring three goals to complete a hat trick. Senior defender Kevin Miller added the final goal.
The Trojans took the lead with 12 minutes left in the first half on Tim Miller's first goal. Three minutes into the second stanza, Tim Miller fired a shot to the left corner off an assist from sophomore Caleb Bouchier to make the score 2-0.
In the 79th minute, Tim Miller headed the ball into the net off of a corner kick to complete his hat trick. Kevin Miller put the game out of reach on a header of his own off a free kick by Danny Crawley in the 81st minute.
Taylor dominated every category of the game, beating the Wolverines in time of possession, shots (19-1) and corners (11-2). Fouls got heavy in the second half with four yellow cards being pulled out against the Wolverines. The Wolverines committed 18 fouls while Taylor committed only five.
Injuries have plagued the Trojans in recent weeks, but the team is getting healthier. Junior midfielder Giovanny Guthro was able to log some quality minutes in his first game back from an injury.
"The win was good," Tim Miller said. "We got some momentum. It's good to get that first win in the books; it couldn't come at a better time with conference starting Friday."
The Trojans start conference play at Marian tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Feature Photograph by Timothy P. Riethmiller
