BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— The Montreat men's soccer team easily handled the Johnson & Wales University-Charlotte Wildcats at Pulliam Stadium Saturday evening. The Cavaliers, who scored their most goals in a game since Sept. 25 of the 2019 season against Kentucky Christian, poured six goals into the net to win 6-1 and open the 2021 campaign with a victory.
 
Montreat controlled play from the start, creating chances in the early minutes before Brian Eke got the Cavs on the board with his first collegiate goal in just the eighth minute. The freshman headed home a well-weighted cross from Carlos Hernandez to break the ice.
 
On a nearly identical buildup 12 minutes later, Rodrigo Jimenez polished off cross from Guido Glorioso, who picked up his second helper of the night on the tally. Glorioso ended the evening with three assists in his Cavalier debut.
 
Montreat went into the break leading by a pair of goals; however, a plethora of second-half offense gave the Cavaliers a comfortable lead. The home team went on to out-shoot the Wildcats 18-6 in the final 45 minutes and 29-7 overall.
 
Eleven minutes into the second frame, Hugo Rodriguez blasted home a shot attempt from the top of the box, making the score 3-0.
 
Jimenez then settled a bouncing ball over the top of the JWU defense and slotted it to the keeper's right in the 64^th minute to expand the advantage to four. Only 29 seconds later, the Madrid native gathered a through ball from Hugo Rodriguez to complete his hat-trick.
 
"Today was a big game for us being our first home game. I really enjoyed playing with the team today and I think we have a lot of chemistry. I'm obviously happy for my hat-trick, but I'm even happier for the whole team and the performance today," Jimenez commented.
 
Though the Wildcats struck in the 69^th minute to eliminate the home team's clean sheet, Ricardo Araujo answered with eight minutes remaining in the contest. Araujo poked a rebound from William Stallworth's pass to seal the five-goal triumph and send the Cavaliers to 1-0 on the season.
 
Head coach Michael Bruce stated, "Today was a great victory for us. We really clicked offensively and were strong defensively from the first minute to the 90^th. I'm happy with how the team played and it's an exciting platform for us to build into another tough game."
 
The Cavs will now host Warren Wilson on Wednesday at Pulliam Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.