Grinnell men's soccer team rolls by Coe in season opener

The Grinnell College men's soccer team had a stellar season opener Saturday, posting a 5-1 home victory over non-conference foe Coe College.

Grinnell made a statement almost immediately, scoring in the sixth minute on an Alex Exarhos '10 (pictured) free kick that went over the keeper's hands and rattled off the cross bar before going into the net. But the Kohawks answered three minutes later as Vance Rudolph scored on a penalty kick to make it 1-all.

Mark Rosenberg '11 broke the tie in the 35th minute as he beat the keeper with a shot into the right side of the net for a 2-1 Pioneer lead. Enoch Commey '12 was credited with the assist. The Pioneers made it a 3-1 halftime cushion in the 40th minute when Matti Sahel '11 scored as he slipped past the keeper and found the back of the net.

The Pioneers tacked on two more goals in the second half. Andrew Walsh '09 began the half with a goal in the 55th minute after knocking in a rebound shot. In the 66th minute, Sean Odedina '09 sent a perfect pass right to left to Evan Wright '12, who delivered it home for a 5-1 lead. That score would hold up through the end.

Ben Schemper '11 and Greg Fox '12 each worked a half at goal for the winners, coming up with a pair of saves each. Grinnell outshot the visitors 18-9 after holding just an 8-6 halftime lead in that category. Exarhos and Rosenberg had five and four shots, respectively, for Grinnell.

The Pioneers play their annual alumni game at 3 p.m. Sunday before jumping back into regular-season action Sept. 6 and 7 with contests at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and University of Dubuque.
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