Williamsburg, KY – The #13 UC men's soccer team struck first and ran away with the game against Shawnee State for the 4-1 victory Saturday afternoon at the UC Soccer Complex. The four goals tie the most Cumberlands has scored this season and marks the most that the Bears have given up this season. 

Rodrigo Riveros led the way with a brace, marking his first multi-goal game since October 12, 2021. Shuma Sasaki tallied a goal and an assists in the win, while Storm Hollensted dished out a pair of assists.  Tiago Duarte netted his second goal of the year, while Pablo Vazquez made one save and tallied his second assist of the season.

The Patriots took control of the game in the opening ten minutes of the game as UC tallied a pair of shots and a pair of corner kicks.  In the 10' Cumberlands took advantage of a favorable field position off a throw-in as they worked the ball back to Joachim Blomsterberg near midfield.  The defender played the ball forward to Storm Hollensted, who took two touches and pushed it ahead to Rodrigo Riveros for the first goal of the game.  It was Riveros' second goal of the season and Blomsteberg's first assist of the year.

Shawnee State looked for a quick equalizer however, Pablo Vazquez stopped a Shawnee State shot on frame for his first save of the game.  UC looked to extend their lead in the 34' after stopping a Bears free kick the Patriots pushed the ball up field finding Antonis Seraphides, however, his shot went just right of the frame keeping the score 1-0.  Cumberlands added two more shots but neither of them were on frame keeping the score 1-0 at the break.

Cumberlands continued to apply offensive pressure in the second half with a pair of shots in the first five minutes of play, both of which were blocked by the Shawnee State backline.  UC continued to press on the defensive side of the ball as well which resulted in Hollensted forcing a turnover in the Patriots offensive third.  After gaining possession the sophomore crossed it to Shuma Saski, who put a well-placed shot into the right corner of the net to extend the lead to 2-0 at the 54:04 mark. 

The two teams traded possession over the next 15 minutes with both teams recording a wide shot during that stretch.  UC was looking to extend their lead as Vazquez sent the ball up the left flank to Sasaki, who made two touches before crossing to the top of the 18-yard box.  That ball connected with Riveros as he fired a shot into the back of the net for his first brace of the season and extending the lead to 3-0 with 19:36 remaining. 

In the 85' Shawnee State looked to get on the board after earning a penalty kick for a foul in the box.  Vasquez stepped up and saved the Bears first attempt, however, was called for leaving the line early giving Shawnee State a second chance.  The Bears converted the second opportunity to cut the lead to 3-1.  Cumberlands responded in the closing minute with a goal of their own for the 4-1 final.  Ricardo Lopes passed the ball forward to Tiago Duarte, who put a paced ball into the upper right corner of the goal for his second of the season.

Cumberlands outshot Shawnee State 14-6 in the contest and had six corner kicks compared to the Bears two. 

The Patriots return to the pitch Wednesday, October 5, when they host UT Southern.  Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. with live video available here.

For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics. Please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter- @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, TikTok- @ucpatriots, Youtube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.