Six different players each scored a goal and Liberty recorded its eighth shutout of the season, Friday night in a 7-0 victory over the Southern Virginia Knights in a non-conference match at Osborne Stadium.
Carrying play from the start, the red-uniformed Flames jumped on the scoreboard early, netting their first goal of the night in the 14th minute. On a corner kick, a shot by defender Chris Mandell (Sr., Bowling Green, Va.) was knocked down by Knight goalkeeper Ben May. Forward Darren Amoo (R-So., Accra, Ghana) pounced on the rebound and blasted a shot into the back of the net for his team-leading ninth goal of the year, giving Liberty a 1-0 advantage.
Amoo connected for the second goal of the contest 11 minutes later. Midfielder Juan Niño (So., Katy, Texas) burst past a defender into the 18-yard box and dropped a pass to a free Amoo. The forward rocketed a shot into the lower, left-hand corner of the net for a 2-0 lead and his 10th goal of the season. It is the third time this year, the forward has netted two goals in a contest.
Liberty closed out the first half with its third goal of the evening in the 40th minute. Midfielder Phillip Aseweh (So., Navrongo, Ghana) broke past two Knight defenders into the left side of the penalty area and pushed a pass to the center of the penalty area for forward Andrew Scheck (Sr., Mt. Juliet, Tenn.). The forward ran onto the ball and ripped a right-footed shot under the crossbar and into the net for his second goal of the season.
In the second half, the Flames quickly upped their lead to 4-0, with a goal in the 51st minute. Off a corner kick, Niño assisted on his second of three goals in the game. His kick found Aseweh open on the far post. The midfielder tipped the ball into the open net for his fifth goal of the year.
Less than four minutes later, Liberty scored for the third time in the contest on a corner kick. Niño sent the ball to defender Chris Osborne (Jr., York, Pa.), who lofted a ball into middle of the 18-yard box. Midfielder Chris Phillips (R-So., Brownsburg, Ind.) ran onto the ball and headed past the goalkeeper for his second goal of the year.
The Flames added two more goals to close out the contest. Kyle Probst (Sr., F/MF, Northumberland, Pa.) netted his second marker of the season, with a put back of a rebound off Thad Taylor’s shot (Jr., MF/D, Klein, Texas) in the 74th minute.
In the 88th minute, two freshmen combined to produce the final marker of the night. Defender Zack Clark (MF/D, Rock Hill, S.C.) recorded his first collegiate assist by lofting a ball from midfield into space for Travis Joseph (F, Laventille, Trinidad), who scored his second goal of the year for the final 7-0 margin.
Liberty outshot Southern Virginia, 37-8, in the contest, and held a 16-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Goalkeeper Andrew Madero (Jr., Tampa, Fla.) made one save during 56 minutes in the Flames’ net. Panashe Nhekario (Jr., Smyrna, Ga.) did not record a save over the final 34 minutes. Ben May had 10 saves for the Knights in the contest. Josh Yarn entered late in the contest and recorded a single save.
Liberty steps back into Big South play Tuesday night. The Flames travel to High Point, N.C., to take on the Panthers of High Point. Match time at Millis Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.