Benedictine Mesa men's soccer turned in a strong performance Thursday night at Santos Soccer Complex, defeating Life Pacific 3-0. The Redhawks scored twice in the opening half before adding another early in the second, while goalkeeper Rafael Machado and the Benedictine defense secured the shutout.Â
Benedictine wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. Bryan Ncube opened the scoring in the sixth minute, finishing an opportunity set up by Athanasiou Athanasios to give the Redhawks an early 1-0 advantage.Â
The Redhawks continued to control the attack throughout the first half, eventually doubling their advantage in the 29th minute. Kobe Bewicke found the back of the net off an assist from Shay Carey, sending Benedictine into halftime with a 2-0 lead. The Redhawks produced 18 shots in the opening 45 minutes while holding Life Pacific to just four.Â
Benedictine picked up where it left off after the break. In the 53rd minute, Bewicke struck for his second goal of the night, this time taking a feed from Ncube to extend the advantage to 3-0.Â
Life Pacific generated more opportunities in the second half, but Machado was up to the challenge. The Redhawks' goalkeeper made all five of his saves after halftime to preserve the clean sheet and complete the 3-0 victory.Â
Benedictine held a 28-13 advantage in total shots and put 16 attempts on goal compared to five for Life Pacific. Bewicke led the Redhawks with seven shots and four on goal to go along with his two goals. Ncube finished with a goal and an assist, while Carey and Athanasios each recorded an assist.Â
