Flames Men’s Soccer defeats Western Illinois 7-1

The Liberty University Flames faced off against the Western Illinois Leathernecks Saturday, Sept. 28. The Flames went into the contest hoping to break their two-game losing streak, and they did so in dramatic fashion, winning 7-1. 

Both teams entered the game with a streak, but while the Leathernecks wanted to extend their three-game winning streak, the Flames were hoping to stop their two-game skid.

The Flames were the first to put a point on the board with a goal from senior forward Michael Huss assisted by senior defender Skyler Stricker. After the rest of the first half finished quietly, the two teams entered halftime with the Flames up by one and the Leathernecks locked at zero. Liberty’s junior goalkeeper Owen Moore earned the Flames their one and only card of the game with a yellow card for unsporting behavior early in the second half. Huss later added to the scoreboard again with his second goal and an assist from sophomore forward Leo Conneh.

Huss obtained the first hat trick of his career by scoring his third goal in a row for the Flames, assisted by freshman forward Tyee Allen and senior midfielder Gabe Findley. 

Huss has been on fire early in this season, netting four goals in the Flames’ last six games, and he was said to look very strong coming into their game against the Leathernecks.

“They just kept finding me; I just let them do their thing,” Huss said about his first career hat trick. “They were really doing all the work out there. It’s all thanks to my teammates, honestly.”   

Western Illinois finally put one away into an unattended net from junior forward Liam Gainey, who was assisted by sophomore forward Xavier Gagnon. But the Flames then further extended their lead by bringing the score to 5-1 with one goal from freshman midfielder Spencer Moler and another from junior defender Bryce Swinehart off an assist by Conneh.

“It was great to go deep into the roster. I thought we had good performances from everybody,” Head Coach Kelly Findley said.

Liberty topped off its scoring with a sixth goal that came off the foot of sophomore forward Matthew Torrell. Although the Flames were already up 6-1, they were granted another point after the Leathernecks netted a shot in their own goal, leaving the final score 7-1 for a Liberty win. 

“We scored goals through all of our game principles, which is always good to see,” Findley said. “It’s nice to see the things we do in training come out in the game and be effective.”

Liberty’s next four games will be away games, starting what the team calls its “International Tour of the Midwest.” The first away game of the tour will be against the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas, Oct. 3.

Schlosser is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion.