Western Brown’s boys soccer team did something they have not done in nearly two full seasons last night against the Goshen Warriors.

The Broncos offense struck for seven goals in the first half en route to a 10-0 demolition of Goshen in the team’s home opener Tuesday night. It was the first time the Broncos had scored 10 goals in a game since the team beat Clermont Northeastern 10-1 in 2013.

Four of the team’s goals came in a six-minute period. Austen Coffey tallied the first goal for the Broncos and nearly had a second one two minutes later when he ran the ball into the box before losing possession. The ball bounced right to Quenton Winkler, who converted for the Broncos’ second goal of the game. Winkler would add another goal two minutes later. The Broncos would convert on a penalty kick shortly after for the team’s fourth goal of the first half.

Head coach Kyle Fender said the Broncos offense wasn’t sharp during the team’s preseason games, and the scoring outburst was a welcome sight.

“We struggled to score all preseason so it was nice to see the ball go in the back of the net,” Fender said.

The Broncos tallied three more goals in the first half to take a 7-0 lead. The team would score three more times in the second half for the 10-0 shutout victory.

The amount of people scoring the goals for the Broncos was just as important as the amount of goals scored. Eight different Western Brown players tallied a point in the contest, with five different players scoring a goal. Fender said that balance is crucial to his team’s success this season.

“That’s the key thing,” Fender said. “We’ve had great goal scorers in the past, but now we have several options to find the net. I think that makes us more dangerous.”

Western was just as stout defensively. Freshman goalkeeper Sam Linkous didn’t touch the ball until the 13th minute of the first half when a teammate passed the ball back to him. His first save came three minutes later. Linkous would finish the game with just three saves, a testament to how well the Bronco defense played in front of him.

“I’m proud of the way our back four played,” Fender said. “Starting a freshman goalkeeper, it’s always good to get him a shutout early in the year. I’m proud of our boys back there.”

Goshen sophomores Brandon Singleton (11) and Nick Bennett (9) watch Bronco senior Quentin Winkler (14) score one of his three first-half goals Tuesday night.
https://www.newsdemocrat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_WBHSBoys.jpgGoshen sophomores Brandon Singleton (11) and Nick Bennett (9) watch Bronco senior Quentin Winkler (14) score one of his three first-half goals Tuesday night.

By Garth Shanklin

gshanklin@civitasmedia.com

Reach Garth Shanklin at 937-378-6161 or gshanklin@civitasmedia.com.