FENTON, Mo. – The Webster University men's soccer team captured the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Tournament Championship on Saturday evening, defeating Greenville University 9-2 at World Wide Technology Soccer Park to secure an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament.
Scott Price scored twice in the opening 25 minutes, while Erik Fenes recorded a second-half hat trick as the Gorloks erupted for six goals after halftime. The victory completed a championship sweep for Webster's soccer programs, following the women's team's 1-0 victory over Spalding earlier in the afternoon.
Webster wasted little time establishing control, opening the scoring just 96 seconds into the contest. Elmin Lemes connected with Price to give the Gorloks an early 1-0 advantage.
Greenville's comeback efforts were dealt an early setback when William Jorgenvag Collier received a red card in the 15th minute, leaving the Panthers a player down for the remainder of the contest. Webster capitalized on the advantage, doubling its lead in the 25th minute when Price netted his second goal of the evening off an assist from Bashor Soufi.
The Gorloks extended their lead to 3-0 before halftime as Tom Walton found the back of the net in the 40th minute, capping a dominant opening period in which Webster outshot Greenville 17-2.
Greenville cut the deficit to 3-1 in the 61st minute, but Webster responded with four unanswered goals in a span of less than five minutes to put the championship out of reach.
Alberto Duque Gonzalez started the scoring surge in the 68th minute off an assist from Finn Rohl, before Soufi added a goal at the 70:00 mark. Fenes followed just 66 seconds later with his first goal of the evening, and Soufi struck again at 72:03 to extend Webster's advantage to 7-1.
After Greenville added its second goal in the 77th minute, Fenes closed out the scoring with two additional goals at 77:23 and 80:18, completing his hat trick in just 9:12 of game time.
Webster controlled the offensive statistics throughout the contest, holding a commanding 40-7 advantage in total shots, including an 18-3 edge in shots on goal. The Gorloks also finished with an 8-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Fenes led Webster with three goals, while Price and Soufi each scored twice. Walton and Duque Gonzalez added one goal apiece, with Soufi also contributing an assist. Blake Cain recorded two assists for the Gorloks.
In goal, Jakub Samelko earned the victory, recording one save in 76:30 of action before Charlie Leahy finished the contest.
Following the championship, Vladimir Sennikov was named the SLIAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, while Scott Ruddy and Tom Walton joined him on the All-Tournament Team.
With the victory, Webster secured the SLIAC's automatic qualification to the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament, joining the women's program in the national postseason.
The Gorloks will learn their first-round opponent and tournament destination during the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Selection Show.
