Bridgewater, Va. – Bridgewater College men’s soccer defeated the visiting Regent University Royals on Tuesday afternoon, scoring 11 goals along the way to record their third victory on the season. 

Scoring opened up early for the Eagles, with a Regent turnover in the midfield forced by senior Sam Franklin and taken down the left wing gave BC their first true scoring chance of the game. 

Franklin’s low cross found first-year David Franco unmarked in the center of the penalty box. Franco left no doubt as he tucked the ball away to the left side of the goal just two and a half minutes into the game.

Two minutes later, a foul in the Royal’s defensive third gave BC a well-positioned free kick opportunity just outside the 18 yard box. Both sophomore Parker Richard and first-year Alex Martinez stood over the ball, but it was Richard who stepped up to take the kick. Richard found space beneath the leaping Regent defensive wall and the ball found its way into the back of the net, giving the Eagles their second goal with just four minutes played. 

In minute eight, sophomore Vincent Marra played a long ball out of the back for Franco to run onto, giving BC a chance on goal once more. Franco’s individual effort took him to the face of the goal, but he passed the ball off to a patient Franklin on the left side. Franklin sent a powerful shot to the far post, netting the third and final goal of the half.

BC started the second half in a similar fashion to the first, with Franklin tallying his second goal of the afternoon two minutes into play. An unselfish play by Martinez gave Franklin a one-on-one opportunity against Regent’s first-year goalkeeper Luke Kuen that ended with the ball slipping into the bottom right corner of the goal. Franklin completed an uninterrupted hat trick performance in minute 56 off of a right sided cross by Franco.  

Other Eagles joined Franklin and Franco on the scoresheet through the second half. Franco’s left side corner kick found the head of sophomore Eric Ramirez at the near post and Ramirez buried the ball in the goal in minute 58. 

Five minutes later, Oscar Garcia found Martinez on a through ball that split Royals defenders and left Martinez with just Kuen to beat. A shot across the face of the goal put Martinez on the scoresheet and gave BC goal number seven.

Regent scored their first and only goal directly from the ensuing kickoff. A long shot from senior Steve Ocon dipped towards the far post, besting junior netminder Tyler Deutsch and putting the Royals on the scoreboard.

Minute 71 saw a long diagonal ball from Richard fall behind the backline of Regent. First-year substitute Lestath Savage sped past his defender to get on the receiving end of the pass. Savage struck the ball on the first touch from distance and netted the first goal of his collegiate career in spectacular fashion.  

The Eagles found their ninth goal off of another through ball opportunity. Savage’s pass off the outside of his foot curled directly into the path of fellow first-year Marvin Perez. A heavy touch enticed Kuen off his line, but an error left the ball with Perez who finished with a pass to the back of the net. 

Regent’s defensive struggles continued as an Eagles corner kick resulted in a handled ball and subsequent penalty kick chance for the home side. Junior Trevon Phillips stepped up to take the shot and placed it to the left side of the goal, sending Kuen diving the wrong direction. 

The last goal of the match came with under half a minute left to play. First-year Jack Leopold spearheaded the attack with an individual effort that left him centered on goal. A technical shot to the near post beat Kuen nicely, rounding off an eventful offensive performance for BC. 

“It’s always great to get a lot of guys on the score sheet. Especially the younger guys who are getting their first tastes of college soccer. It definitely helps to build confidence as a team and gives us a huge boost going into the conference games in the coming weeks,” said Franklin.

The team will finish a busy week as they begin ODAC play at Randolph on Sept. 25.