GAMBIER – Kenyon College sophomore Alem Duratovic scored three times Friday and lifted the Owls to a 6-1 victory over the Greenville University Panthers in the rain-soaked first round of the NCAA Division men’s soccer tournament at Mavec Field.
The first-round win was Kenyon’s ninth straight in national tournament play, and it improved the team’s record to 17-1-1.
Kenyon jumped out to an early 2-0 lead against the Panthers before Duratovic even stepped on the field.
Senior Scott Upton converted a penalty kick in the game’s seventh minute, and then a feed from Eamon Dujakovich in the 16th minute led to a goal from Sebastian Gaese. Upton’s goal was his 10th of the season and Gaese’s goal was his ninth.
Duratovic came off the bench in the 23rd minute and notched his first goal 10 minutes later. Taking advantage of a free kick from about 25 yards out, he found a crack in the Greenville defensive wall and perfectly placed his shot into the lower left corner of the Panthers’ goal.
Four minutes later, Duratovic struck again, giving Kenyon a comfortable four-goal cushion at the break. This time Duratovic was aided on the play, as Atli Hrafnkelsson brought the ball up the right side. Hrafnkelsson took a turn to his left and got into the box. From there, he dished a short pass to Duratovic, who blasted his second goal just inside the right post.
After intermission, Sam Carson and Gerardo Martinez connected to record the Owls’ fifth score. With Martinez breaking loose up the middle, he hit Carson in stride just a few yards ahead. Panthers’ back-up goalkeeper, Francesco Ribechini, came out to challenge Carson, but Carson juked to the left side, worked around Ribechini and scored with his left foot from a tough angle.
Duratovic checked back into the game during the 84th minute and, 80 seconds later, he recorded his third goal. With Jacob Lazarus powering forward through midfield, Duratovic held up on the left side and then gathered in a pass from Lazarus. Duratovic took one step to his right and curled his shot into the upper right corner from about 20 yards out.
The three goals from Duratovic upped his season total to a team-leading 17. That is the program’s best single-season output since Tony Amolo scored 18 times in the 2015 season.
As the scoreboard indicated, Kenyon controlled every phase of the game. The Owls outshot the Panthers 16-5 and chalked up a 5-0 difference in corner kicks.
Greenville, which got a goal from Pablo Valverde in the game’s final minute, finished off its season with an 11-4-5 record.
