BARNESVILLE, Ga. – LSU Eunice Men's Soccer opened the 2024 regular season in impressive fashion, taking a pair of games in Barnesville, Georgia. The 12th-ranked Bengals (2-0) swept the weekend under the direction of first-year head coach John Plumbar.
The Bengals rallied from an early deficit to hand USC Lancaster a 2-1 defeat on Saturday, followed by a 9-0 blow out of Andrew College. Both games were on the campus of Gordon State College. The first-year theme held true in the scoring ledger as well with eight of the team's 11 goals over the weekend coming from freshmen.
LSU Eunice Men's Soccer is set for its home opener this Friday as the Bengals host Texas Southmost College at 11:00AM from the Bengal Soccer Complex. It's the first of 11 games against Region 14 competition with LSUE playing a co-operative schedule with the Texas-based league. The home opener is part of a weekend doubleheader for the Bengals, who host Coastal Bend College on Saturday at 2:00PM.
Aug. 24 vs. USC Lancaster – W, 2-1
LSU Eunice overcame an early deficit to score a 2-1 win over USC Lancaster to open the 2024 season. It marked the first collegiate coaching win for John Plumbar.
The Bengals fell behind after the Lancers connected on a 14th minute goal. It would be just one of two shots on goal faced by
Landon Sorrell (Monroe, LA, Neville HS) as his defensive side would tighten the screws on the USC Lancaster offense for the remainder of the contest.
LSUE equalized a few minutes later with
Nathan Martinez (Houston, TX, Klein Cain HS) scoring in the 25th minute from an assist by
Ethan Shanahan (Baton Rouge, LA, Dutchtown HS). The game winner would not come into the final stretch as
Chris Williams (Lafayette, LA, St. Thomas More HS) used a
Xavier Blanchard (Granby, Quebec, Canada, Ontario Virtual School) assist in the 77th minute that sparked an eruption from the LSUE bench.
Aug. 25 vs. Andrew College – W, 9-0
The Bengals' offense capped off their opening weekend with a furious onslaught, cruising past Andrew College 9-0. The production is tied for the fourth most goals in a single game in program history.
Chris Williams picked up where he left off from his game winner in the season opener, scoring on a tap-in in the seventh minute from an assist by
Julian Pasqualino (Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Father John Redmond HS).
Chris Issa (Beirut, Lebanon, Sagesse Brasilia) pushed the LSUE lead to 2-0 in the 19th minute.
The Bengals finished the half with a flurry of goals as
Arnold Cruz (Monroe, LA, Neville HS) and
Haythem Abraham (Baton Rouge, LA, Baton Rouge Magnet HS) grabbed quick braces before the break. Cruz netted goals in the 33rd and 36th minutes, while Abraham helped pushed the lead to 6-0 at intermission with goals one minute apart in the 42nd and 43rd.
Avaneesh Kamath (Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Reliance Foundation School) continued the scoring to open the second half with a goal in the 46th minute, followed by another brace by way of
Chase Duvernay (Metairie, LA, Holy Cross HS), netting goals in the 50th and 55th minute.
Issa, Pasqualino and Kamath each had two assists in the offensive showcase while Williams and
AJ Vera (Houston, TX, The Woodlands College Park HS) also produced helpers.
Landon Sorrell and
Bronson Paus (Arlington, TX, James Martin HS) combined for the clean sheet in net.
