Box Score
Guelph, ON – Led by a hat trick from first year striker Jace Kotsopoulos (Burlington, ON), the Gryphons Men's Soccer team scored six unanswered goals to roll past Brock 6-1 on Saturday afternoon at the Gryphon Soccer Complex. With the win, the Gryphons improve to 3-1-1 on the season while the Badgers fall to 1-4-0.
 
Things were not looking good for the Gryphons early on when a sixth minute cross from Badgers' freshman midfielder, Nathan Briglio, deflected off a Guelph defender into the net. Youssef Zaghoul got the offence going for the Gryphons in the 24^th minute, when he was taken down inside the box earning a penalty shot for the Gryphons and a yellow card for Badgers' defender Terrance Giangregomo. First year striker and second leading scorer in the OUA, Jace Kotsopoulos, would step up to take the penalty and easily put the ball in the back of the net, tying the game at 1-1.
 
Right the first half came to a close, the Gryphons would take a 2-1 lead. Once again, it was Youssef Zaghoul helping create on the attack. This time, Zaghoul split a pair of Brock defenders before placing a perfectly weighted through ball to substitute Atchu Siva (Brampton, ON). Siva easily slid home his second goal of the season as the home team took a 2-1 lead into the break at half.
 
In the second half, the Gryphons would add to their lead in the 54^th minute. Zaghoul would show some great strength to fight off several Brock defenders at the top of the 18-yard box before laying off to Jace Kotsopoulos who then sent a beautiful strike into the back of the net for his second goal of the match to give the Gryphons a 3-1 lead. Less than five minutes later, Zaghoul would draw another penalty which was once again converted by Kotsopoulos. For Kotsopoulos, it marked his third goal of the match and fifth goal of the season as the Gryphons suddenly led 4-1.
 
In the 62^nd minute, Brock appeared to have a clear breakaway until Gryphons centre back Justin Springer (Burlington, ON) caught up and took the ball away. A quick Gryphons counter attack led to Zaghoul powering the ball across the box into the bottom left corner of the net for his second goal in as many games to make it 5-1 Guelph. Zaghoul forced two penalty shots, and was directly responsible for five goals this afternoon.
 
When asked about all the chances he created, Zaghoul had this to say, "I felt it coming the whole time, I was playing hard and assisting my team, I knew I had to keep my head up and keep going. I was waiting for my chance, and I took it." In the 90^th minute, centre back Conor O'Callaghan (Vancouver, B.C.) put the nail on the coffin, scoring the Gryphons' sixth goal of the night from just outside the area.
 
Substitutes, Siva and Willem Grant were very confident on the ball and made impacts on the game as soon as they stepped on the field. Captain Justin Springer led the way for a back four that was solid all match long for the Gryphons. After the match, Springer explained "It's about sticking to the game plan and knowing where to be and how to react. The coaches always do a great job of preparing us for the challenges we are going to face."
 
Up next for the Gryphons, a trip to York on Sunday afternoon to take on the defending National Champions in the York Lions. The match is scheduled to start at 3:15pm and can be seen live online at OUA.tv