Phoenix men blank Delta State 5-0
Oct. 11—Welcoming their final non-conference opponent of the season, Cumberland's men faced off against Division II Delta State University this past Sunday.
Braces from both Philipp Schmidtke and John Azar ensured a strong Phoenix victory, 5-0, at Lindsey Donnell Stadium.
Schmidke's performance in this and an earlier win over Georgetown helped the freshman from Gifhorn, Germany earn Mid-South Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors on Monday.
Delta State had only conceded more than two goals on a single occasion in this season, the Phoenix however have been scoring goals for fun as of late, scoring three or more goals in back-to-back games.
Cumberland looked as though they had a game plan in mind and they were going to attack the Statesmen goal until they put one in the back of the net. Taking advantage of DSU's first mistake, Schmidtke kept his hot streak alive with a goal in the 22nd minute.
The Phoenix have a knack for creativity from the back line, however an unlikely figure found themselves on the box score. Jack McCarthy had a ball played back to him and without hesitation, he sent a long ball to Schmidtke who took a touch around the goalkeeper and tapped it in.
Making up for lost time, it took just four more minutes to find their next goal. Edvin Grevskott combined with Victor Ramirez all the way up the right wing and completing the action was Marcos Perez, scoring his first goal as a Phoenix.
Azar came on as a substitute in the 24th minute and put a goal in the back of the net just five minutes later. The one goal would not be it for Azar however, as he took two shots in the half and buried both of them in the back of the net to put the Phoenix up 4-0.
Cumberland commanded the game for the latter part of the half, though Delta State gained some confidence as Ruari Behan was sent off with this second yellow card just before the half.
Despite being a man down for the entirety of the second half, the Phoenix still found a way to rattle off 10 shots and held the Statesman to just four.
Schmidtke added his second goal of the match and the final goal for Cumberland in the match in the 65th minute. Mark Donaldson played the ball to himself in the corner and then crossed it to Schmidtke in the box. Schmidtke one-touch volleyed it to himself and buried it in the corner of the net for the 5-0 score.
The Phoenix held Delta State scoreless for their sixth clean sheet of the season.
Cumberland will have some rest leading into a road match with a top-5 team next week as the Phoenix travel to No. 5 Lindsey Wilson on Oct. 18.
