Offense propels warhawks to victory

Jack Miller, Assistant Sports Editor

The UW-Whitewater men’s soccer team (2-1) used an offensive onslaught in the second half to defeat Olivet 3-0 in the team’s home opener at Fiskum Field on Sept. 6.

The Warhawks scored all three of the team’s goals in a span of 11 minutes from the 49th to the 61st minute.

For the second straight game, the goalie combination of senior Chris Lucatorto and sophomore Toney Anderson preserved a clean sheet for the Warhawk defense.

Head coach Tony Guinn said he felt really good about the Warhawks’ performance.

“I thought it was a very close game for a long time,” Guinn said. “Once we scored that first goal the game broke open.”

Junior forward Peter Raymonds, sophomore forward Hozai Ceballos and freshman midfielder Steven Wright all challenged Olivet goalie Brendan Morse with a shot on goal in the first half, but Morse saved all three shots.

It didn’t take long for the Warhawks offense to heat up after halftime.

In the 49th minute Raymonds connected with sophomore midfielder Kevin Mesich for the first goal of the game and put UW-W up 1-0.

Six minutes later, Olivet midfielder Evan Shirkey fired a shot on goal to try and knot things up, but Lucatorto halted the attempt.

Just a minute later, the Warhawks were rewarded a corner kick and they took advantage.   

Freshman midfielder Lucas Monterroso found sophomore defender Yoshihiko Fukushima, who put the ball in the back of the net and increased the UW-W lead to 2-0.

The Warhawks went up 3-0 in the 60th minute after Raymonds ripped a free kick into the net.

The goal was Raymonds’ third of the season, the most on the team.

“We’re just fortunate enough to have Peter,” Guinn said. “He did something special with that goal, he’s a special player.”

Raymonds, who was selected as the Wisconsin player of the year in men’s soccer as a senior at Brookfield East, played at UW-Milwaukee from 2015-2016.

After two years of soccer at UW-Milwaukee, Raymonds transferred to UW-W, making 2017 his first season with the Warhawk soccer team.

Raymonds noted what his transition to UW-W has been like.

“It’s been pretty smooth,” Raymonds said. “I transferred in last spring. I made the move to get acclimated with the team before the actual season. It has really helped a lot.”

The Warhawks will take a road trip to Minnesota to play Augsburg College on Sept. 8, and Macalester College on Sept. 10.