Dalton State soccer: Labor Day win gets DSC men to 5-0, women defeat Milligan

Published 2:00 pm Tuesday, September 3, 2024

After a 4-0 Labor Day win over Bryan as part of the Grizzly Classic at Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville, the Dalton State College men’s soccer team is now 5-0 on the season.

The Roadrunners played two games over the long weekend in the event, winning over Montana’s Rocky Mountain 2-1 on Saturday and shutting out Bryan 4-0 Monday.

The one goal given up against Rocky Mountain was the first of the season so far by the Roadrunner defense. All four of the Roadrunners’ other games have been shutouts.

That goal came at the 24:59 mark of the first half against Rocky Mountain and put Dalton State behind in a game for the first time all season, but the Roadrunners equalized just after halftime.

Leonardo Seixas sent in the tying goal at the 47:42 mark. In the 76th minute, Mizuki Saika got what would become the game-winning goal. Jip van den Essen and Jack Stainrod assisted on the winner.

After the two teams both tallied three shots in the first half, Dalton State outshot RMC 7-3 in the second half as the Roadrunners netted the two goals.

After the test against Rocky Mountain, the shutout win over Bryan much more closely resembled the first three games of Dalton State’s season.

The Roadrunners scored just 54 seconds into the match, added another less than five minutes in and held a 3-0 lead with just under 11 minutes gone by in the game as Dalton State cruised to the win.

Seixas scored the first goal on a Stainrod assist, while Stainrod himself netted the second at the 4:13 mark. Kazuma Ishizuka scored at the 10:45 mark to make it 3-0.

The Roadrunners added some insurance when Stainrod put in the fourth goal of the game at the 66:44 mark off an assist from Jack Brown.

Dalton State outshot Bryan 14-3.

Dalton State will be back in action at home Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. against Cumberland.

The Dalton State women’s team also remained undefeated, grabbing a 2-0 Sunday win over Milligan to get to 2-0-1 on the year.

After a first half of piling up shots but being unable to get any to go, the Lady Roadrunners scored two goals in the span of nine minutes in the second half to grab the win.

Emma Johnson broke the scoreless seal after 50:25 of scoreless play, scoring on an assist from Ava Vandoren.

Vandoren assisted again as Ria Cox put in a goal at the 59:08 mark of play.

Dalton State led 18-3 in total shots. Vandoren led Dalton State in shots on goal with three, but made her mark on the score sheet with her two assists.

The Roadrunners next play Southern Union State on Sept. 10 at 7 p.m.