(PHOENIXVILLE, Pa.) – Wilson kept its postseason hopes alive as it came back to defeat Valley Forge in convincing fashion on Tuesday afternoon. The Phoenix yielded the first goal to the Patriots midway through the first half, but answered with a goal later in the frame before running away with the contest with four goals in the second half.
The Basics
Score: Wilson 5, Valley Forge 1
Venue: Patriot Field
Records: Wilson 3-10-2, 1-3-2 Skye; Valley Forge 2-11-2, 0-3-0 Skye
How It Happened
- The opening 20 minutes were largely controlled by defense as both teams could only generate one shot each. Jordan DeVincent (FY, Eldersburg, Md. / Liberty) had the first crack at the net with a shot to the bottom center that was saved in the 13th minute, while the Patriots' Faustin Mucunguzi overshot the frame eight minutes later.
- The hosts were able to capitalize moments later as Seth Brady scored on an assist from Kellen Preston. The Phoenix started to pressure the Valley Forge defense and issued seven shots before Luis Jiminez (FY, Carabobo, Venezuela / Taylor Allderdice) eventually tallied the equalizer just before the half in the 42nd minute.
- The second half belonged to the Blue and White from the get-go. Jimenez fired off a shot that was saved two minutes in, but Wilson got the go-ahead goal two minutes later when Jace Williams (FY, Chesapeake, Va. / Hickory) located the upper 90 from the left side of the box on a free kick.
- From there the flood gates opened. A set piece provided another goal as Ian Ruiz (Sr., Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico) headed in a corner kick from Martin Souza (So., Manassas Park, Va. / Manassas Park) in the 63rd minute. Souza took the kick from the right side while Ruiz was set up in the box on the far post to flick it in.
- About 12 minutes later, Jiminez set up Dylan Youmans (Sr., Westminster, Md. / South Carroll) for another insurance goal. Coming in from the left, Jiminez found Youmans streaking in on the right side. Youmans was able to slide in and get just enough of a touch to put it inside the post for the 4-1 lead.
- The coup de grâce came in the 86th minute as Brian Mulholland (So., Oracle, Ariz. / Canyon del Oro) scored after taking a pass from midfield and beating the goalkeeper on the left side from just outside the right center of the box.
Inside The Numbers
- Mulholland scored for the third consecutive game while Jiminez has found the back of the net in the last two. Mulholland leads the team with seven goals and 15 points while Jiminez is second in points with seven.
- This is the first time Wilson has scored five goals in a game since a 7-5 defeat to Centenary almost exactly four years ago on October 19, 2019.
- The last time Wilson scored five goals in a game and won wasn't long before that. That came against St. Elizabeth on October 5, 2019, in a 5-3 victory over the Eagles.
- Five different players scored goals for the Phoenix today. It's only the fourth time in program history at least five different players have scored a goal. The last time it happened was in an 11-0 thrashing of St. Elizabeth on October 14, 2017.
- Gerson Navarro (FY, Manassas Park, Va. / Manassas Park) took the start between the pipes for the Phoenix and improved to 2-1-1 with three saves on six shots faced.
- Shots heavily favored the Phoenix by a count of 17-6 with a 13-4 advantage in shots on goal. Corner kicks accurately reflected Wilson's dominance on offense by an 8-1 margin.
- Wilson improved to 4-0 all time against Valley Forge. The Phoenix have outscored the Patriots by a combined score of 15-2 during those games.
Up Next
The final road game and the penultimate contest of the regular season comes this Sunday when Wilson heads to La Plume for a matinee with Keystone. Kickoff with the Giants is set for 1 p.m.
