LAKELAND â€" Stephen Munoz scored two goals and had three assists, and Jay Mainville also scored two and twice assisted Munoz as 15th-ranked West Florida downed Florida Southern 6-1 Sunday at Barnett Field.
The Argonauts (4-1) scored three goals in each half, but led just 3-1 before a lightning delay sent the teams to the locker room with 21:47 remaining in the second half. Immediately after that, the Argos were able to pull away as Mainville scored in the 72nd minute off a free kick from Munoz, and both players scored in the 75th.
The Moccasins (0-3) gave up just six shots in the first half, but the Argonauts scored on three of them, and they happened to be the first three they took. Those three goals came in the first 15 minutes and were too much for the Mocs to overcome. Munoz played a role in all three of them, assisting the first two and scoring the third.
Goal number one came just 1:12 into the match, with the Argonauts bringing the ball down the right flank and Munoz crossing it into the middle. With Jonsson forced to come out of the net to challenge Munoz, Matt Tanner had an open goal and a chance to score, but the ball spun off the side of his foot and ended up with Frank Cope. Jonsson got back quickly, but not quick enough to prevent Cope from connecting for a 1-0 lead.
In the ninth minute, Munoz created another goal when he chipped a ball into the right side of the box for Paul Willoughby, who also scored and put the Argos up 2-0. Munoz then got one himself at the 15:12 mark, streaking down the middle of the field after taking a pass from Mainville and turning it into his third goal of the season.
After the Argonauts nearly scored again in the 18th minute, the Moccasins awoke, and UWF goalkeeper Elliot Purdom was forced into a diving save against Zach Hofstetter shortly thereafter. The teams played evenly for the remainder of the half before the Mocs came out even stronger to start the second. That’s when Hofstetter got his goal, taking a perfect cross from Sebastian Haupt and sending a header off the left post and into the net.
That play, which came just four minutes into the second half, further energized the Mocs, who then got a big save from Jonsson in the 58th minute to keep the score 3-1. Shortly after that, however, the skies opened, and the teams were sent to the locker room to wait out a 45-minute lightning delay.
Florida Southern opens Sunshine State Conference play in its next match, hosting Florida Tech on Saturday, September 19 at 7:30 p.m.
