Box Score Maryville College Caleb Lucas led the Scots on a thrilling win on Wednesday night, knocking off USA South opponent LaGrange College, 9-0, at Maryville.
Lucas tallied a hat trick in the contest, while posting a pair of assists, as the junior forward had a hand in five of Maryville's nine goals.
With his performance, Lucas now leads the USA South Athletic Conference in points (24), goals (9), assists (6) and shots (51).
The Scots' George Davies posted two goals and an assist, while Bret Thomas tallied two goals for Maryville.
The Scots (8-1-1, 3-0-1 USAS) outshot the Panthers (0-9, 0-3) 30-6 on the night, posting 18 shots on goal. Maryville found five assists, as 28 Scotsmen found playing time in the match.
Maryville struck early and fast, taking a 5-0 advantage to the half.
Lucas found a streaking Tim Baker just 51 seconds into the game in the front of the box. Baker slipped his shot from the left side of the box into the right corner for the Scots to lead 1-0. With 11:18 on the clock, Brandon Baksh found Davies in the left of the right of the box. Davies made a defender miss, and dribbled to the goal for the 2-0 lead early.
At the 17:14 mark, Thomas Whiting found an unassisted goal. The freshman forward dribbled into the box, cutting past a diving goalie at the top. Whiting found with open net for a 3-0 Scots lead.
Davies again would make a vie for a goal at the 18:46 mark, but A.J. Wilson blocked the shot back into the box. Lucas found the loose ball for his first goal of the night.
Maryville's final goal of the half would come at the 24:48 point. Lucas drove the box, dishing left to an open Thomas who slipped the goal past Cory Aycock for the 5-0 lead at the break.
The Scots would waste no time in the second half, however, posting a goal in just 1:49. Lucas and Baker traded passes, before Baker would return the favor, setting Lucas up for his second goal of the night. Only five minutes later, Lucas would complete the hat trick. Whiting found a cross pass into the box to Davies. Davies dished the ball back to his right, finding Lucas for the goal and a 7-0 Scots' advantage.
Davies would find his fifth career goal, as the freshman forward tallied a goal with 53:38 on the clock after a penalty in the box. The first-year player put it in the upper right-hand corner for Maryville's eighth score.
It was Thomas who would give the Scots their ninth and final goal. He drove a quarter of the field, dodging a defender in the box before finding the upper corner for his fourth career goal. The freshman scored the final goal at the 55:18 mark of the second half.
The Scots' 9-0 victory is the most goals scored since at least before 2011, as the Scots missed the entire goal-count for the 2012 season by only four goals, as Maryville tallied 13 goals that full season.
With the game, Maryville's season total pulls to 39 goals – only one goal behind last season's 40 – with at least seven games remaining in the year.
The duo of Jon Taylor and Luke Wheat posted stellar performances in the net, as Taylor turned away three shots and Wheat, two. Taylor earned the shutout and the victory in 63:45, moving his record to 8-1-1.
Taylor ranks first in the USA South with a 1.02 goals against average. He's tallied 42 saves and allowed only 10 goals – both stats that rank second in the conference.
The Scots will travel to Washington & Jefferson University for a tough non-conference road match on Saturday, Oct. 3. First touch is slated for 1:00 p.m.
