Nathan Tucker
nrtucker@lc.edu
With the heat index soaring into the mid 90s, the men’s Trailblazer soccer side hosted Missouri Baptist University’s Reserves on a muggy early September day at Tim Rooney Stadium. Returning with the heat are many sweat bees, which, like wasps at the Godfrey Ball Park, I find are part of the job.
Simply put, there isn’t a whole lot to discuss about the Trailblazers encounter with Missouri Baptist because the game was over before it began. LC striker Tony Bodul netted a hat trick in less than twenty minutes, and he wasn’t the lone scorer for the Trailblazers in that span, with Reshaun Welkes and Kaleb Bassett adding goals of their own.
With the palpable heat and humidity, the referee called for a water break after twenty minutes of action in the first half. After the water break, Ryan Hodge started rotating the Trailblazer lineup, giving players who started the game on the bench some extra minutes. With the result of the game sealed barring catastrophe, it was a good time to get bench players meaningful minutes. Perhaps one of them will capture the eye of coach Hodge and break into the starting side next time around.
The second half started the same way the first did, with a Tony Bodul goal before I even really looked up at the field. The game became a glorified practice for Lewis & Clark early, and with so many goals coming so easy, their main focus was on possession of the ball. When a soccer team scores so much, it becomes trivial to keep attacking for more goals, and no one knows that more than the experienced Trailblazer coaching staff.
A consolation MoBap goal briefly lifted the spirits of the visitors and their fans, but it was answered by a 7th LC goal just minutes later. Ontario native and Trailblazer captain Reshaun Welkes only featured for a few minutes of action, with the game wrapped up so early and having already scored a goal early on. The final from Godfrey: Lewis and Clark 8, Missouri Baptist Reserves 1.
The win takes the Trailblazer men to a .500 record on the young campaign, winning their last two after losing their first two. The men’s soccer team is back in action Saturday, September 7, as they travel to Southeastern Iowa to face the Blackhawks.
