BLUEFIELD, W.Va.— After going winless through its first four matches of the 2023 season, the Montreat men's soccer team is hitting its stride as the Cavaliers claimed their third straight win with Wednesday night's 6-0 victory over the Bluefield University Rams. Thanks to the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) triumph in West Virginia, the Cavs improved to 3-3-1 (2-1-0 AAC) on the year.
 
Alex Klymenko and the visitors wasted little time seizing an early edge on the scoreboard. In the fourth minute, Zeljko Stanojevic launched a cross from the right side of the Rams' 18-yard box into the penalty area. Cutting through open space, Primo Garcia settled the cross and slid a pass over to Klymenko, who was charging toward the left post. There, the Volnovakha, Ukraine native had no issue tapping home the match's opening goal just 3:06 into the contest.
 
Stanojevic and Klymenko weren't content with combining for only one goal in the first half as the duo teamed up for two more tallies in the initial 45 minutes of action. A native of Lazarevac, Serbia, Stanojevic expertly used his right heel to direct a Klymenko cross into the open netting in the 27^th minute. Ten minutes later, Klymenko bagged his second goal of the night and fourth goal of the season after tucking a Stanojevic pass just inside the right post from 16 yards out.
 
The Rams possessed a 3-0 corner kick advantage at the intermission, but Montreat held a 3-0 lead on the scoreboard thanks to significant edges in both shots (12-3) and shots on goal (9-1). Marius Braedstrup-Holm stopped the Rams' lone shot on target in the initial frame.
 
Bluefield (0-6-0, 0-4-0 AAC) forced Braedstrup-Holm into action twice during the 63^rd minute, but the sophomore goalkeeper proved up to the task by easily stopping both shots. From there, the Cavalier offense finished off the match.
 
Stanojevic became the second Cav to register a brace on the night when he pushed the lead out to 4-0. Scoring the first of three Montreat goals across a 5:39 stretch, the freshman nearly went coast-to-coast in the 72^nd minute. Starting from deep in his own half, Stanojevic dribbled from one end of the field to the other until he slotted a tight-angle shot past the diving BU goalie.
 
Ayden Krause joined in on the fun in the 74^th and 77^th minutes as he scored a pair of unassisted goals from the center of the box. The Asheville, N.C. native's late strikes made him the third Cavalier to notch a brace and ultimately secured a 6-0 Montreat triumph in the process.
 
"Tonight's performance was our best of the season so far. Our hunger and desire were matched by our quality today," said head coach Michael Bruce. "It was good to put together a high-level performance for a full game. We are excited about this step forward for our team and look forward to going again on Saturday."
 
Impressively, the Cavs placed 16 of their 19 shot attempts (84.2 percent) on frame during Wednesday night's victory. Meanwhile, Bluefield took just six shots and directed merely three of its looks on target; however, the Rams did record two more corner kicks (5-3) than the visitors. Braedstrup-Holm made a trio of saves to capture his second consecutive shutout and third clean sheet of the season.
 
The Montreat men's soccer team takes on an AAC newcomer, the University of Pikeville Bears, in its next competition this Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Pikeville, Ky.