Hornets Demolish St. Charles Lutheran

The Council of Trent would have been proud as the Fulton Hornets thoroughly dominated St. Charles Lutheran 6-0 on Wednesday.  While the display of soccer was not quite Baroque -- lacking as it did drama and crisis -- the Hornets demonstrated their artistry on the ball and with quick bold strokes conveyed a simple, easily understood message: we will win today.

While a satisfying win, the truth is that St. Charles Lutheran was a depleted opponent with only one sub.  And with a heat index of 102 at kickoff, St. Charles Lutheran was facing an uphill battle at best.

Fulton opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when Jake Pierce ran onto a ball deep in the penalty box. He turned and found Chad Davis aloneat the top of the box. Davis took a settle and coolly measured his shot left upper 90.

Five minutes later, the Hornets struck again to make it 2-0.  As was the case all day, Pierce had acres of space to turn in front of the defense.  Pierce found Howie Lee on the right wing.  Lee delivered an inviting cross that Zach Thomas ssmashed home from the 6 yard box.

In the 33rd minute, Pierce took a pass from Davis and again found himself wide open.  Taking a quick glance up to see the keeper off the line, he launched a shot from 40 yards out that dropped just under the crossbar to make it 3-0.

Two minutes from halftime, Trevor Neal gathered up a loose balll just outside the box and drove forward.  Beating his defender, he was able to send a screamer past the keeper into the far post.

After halftime, the Hornets added two more goals to their haul for the day.  pierce found Darren Jones wide on the left.  jone cut inside and delivered an inch perfect cross to Thomas who volleyed it home.  Three. minutes later thomas (who was denied his hattrick moments before as he was ruled offside) latched on to a loose ball at the far post.  The keeper was able to get a hand to it, but only to push it into the side netting.

That rounded out the scoring, but credit must also be given to the defense.  senior Sam Mayne, making his debut in goal, recorded a clean sheet.  much of the credit goes to Nick Heimericks and Morgan Milligan, who renewed their partnership in central defense. Acknowledgment must also be made of the contributions of the substitutes, who performed ably and kept the pressure on St. Charles Lutheran throughout the game.

The Hornets will play next @ 4:00 on Friday on the stadium field (Fort Zumwalt North) against an opponent yet to be determined.