The Liberty men’s soccer team opened its season Aug. 25 at Osborne Stadium with a convincing 3-0 win over the Radford Highlanders.
Both teams traded shots on their first trips down the field before the game settled into a holding pattern for most of the first half.
That changed in the 44th minute after Radford defenseman James Gardev was called for a penalty in the box, setting up a Liberty penalty kick. Senior midfielder Marko Mitrevski booted the shot into the back of the net for a 1-0 Liberty lead.
“I was just trying to keep myself calm and go through my routine,” Mitrevski said. “Thankfully, it worked out.”
The Flames proceeded to pull away in the second half. In the 62nd minute, immediately after being subbed back into the contest, sophomore forward Luke Eberle took advantage of a rebound in front of the Radford net to make it 2-0.
In the 79th minute, Bryce Swinehart, in his collegiate debut, scored his first goal with the right foot to make it 3-0, which is how the game ended.
Liberty dominated Radford on more than just the scoresheet. The Flames outshot the Highlanders 12-5 on the night, including a 6-1 advantage in shots on goal. Head Coach Kelly Findley was nothing but pleased with the performance of his team.
“I think that was the best Radford team I have seen, so I think this was a really good win,” Findley said. “Anytime we get a shutout and score three goals at home is great.”
The game was a team effort, with 20 different players making an appearance for the Flames. Findley believes that the ability for multiple guys to play is going to be vital to their success moving forward. More importantly, he sees that the team is buying in.
“The bottom line is that we have more than 11 players on the team, so everyone is going to have to share minutes,” Findley said. “They are understanding that ‘I am a team player, and when I get my minutes, I am going to contribute to the group.’”
Mitrevski echoed that sentiment, stressing the importance of being unselfish.
“One of our pillars is team first,” Mitrevski said. “Everyone wants to play 90 minutes, but that is not going to happen. It’s a good thing that does not happen because we have ridiculous quality. Everyone that subbed in made a huge impact.”
Ultimately, Thursday was just one game in comparison to a long season ahead. Findley is excited for what they can do this year, making it very clear what he hopes the identity of this team will be.
“I think we’re going be a fun team to watch,” Findley said. “I think we are going to score a lot of goals. We are very aggressive, and we are very deep. My anticipation is that we will just continue to get better and better and better.”
Liberty will head to the West Coast for its next game, Friday, Sept. 2 against the UCLA Bruins. The Flames’ next home game is Sept. 10, as they begin conference play against the Bellarmine Knights at 1 p.m.
LIPOWSKI is a sports reporter. Follow him on Twitter