Rocky Mount, N.C. - The Battling Bishop men's and women's soccer teams each turned in shutouts at Scalf Field on Wednesday afternoon. The men downed Guilford 7-0, while the women knocked off Randolph 1-0.
Wesleyan men were up first and managed to take a 2-0 lead into the break thanks to first half goals by freshman Baboucarr Njie (23' from Kobi Boompong) and sophomore Olafur Einarsson (39' from Alex Andrade). The Bishops (3-3) out-shot the Quakers (4-2) 14-2 in the opening period and proceeded to net five goals on 13 shots in the final 45 minutes of play.
Junior Drew Wiltse tallied his first points of the season with back-to-back assists on goals by Njie (46') and Caetano Viegas (60'). Njie then completed the hat trick minutes later when he blasted a shot from 30 yards. The rout continued with two more goals in less that two minutes -- the first from A.J. Wadda (64') and the second from Julius Oskarsson (66'), who also assisted the previous two scores.
Bishop keepers Alex Magner and Richard Kandarcyzk combined for the shutout, making a pair of saves on 10 shots. Wesleyan managed 27 shots on the day, with Guilford keeper Eric Hayes recording five stops.
Wesleyan's women followed suit with a dominant second half performance against Randolph (0-3-1) that resulted in a 1-0 victory, their first of the season. The Bishops (1-1-1), who had shots deflect off the post in both halves, out-shot Randolph 24-2 on the day but struggled to find the back of the net.
Finally, with just 2:48 left in regulation, sophomore Mehli Marcellus connected on a shot from 20 yards that beat Wildcat keeper Quinn-Lynn Bates high to her left. Junior Lucia Davids picked up an assist on the play, while NCWC keeper Ashley Major earned the win in goal. Bates took the loss despite an impressive nine saves on the day.
Wesleyan's men travel to Virginia Wesleyan next Tuesday for a 7:00pm regional match-up with the Marlins. The Bishop women open up USA South play at home this weekend with matches versus Ferrum (2:00pm) and Mary Baldwin (1:00pm) on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.