(ASHLAND, Va.) – The Randolph-Macon men's soccer home opener and the first contest of any kind at Nunnally Field was spoiled by Hampden-Sydney by a count of 4-2 on Thursday evening.

The Basics

Score: Randolph-Macon 2 Hampden-Sydney 4

Locations/Venue: Ashland, Va. / Nunnally Field

Records: Randolph-Macon (1-1, 1-1), Randolph-Macon (2-0, 2-0)

How It Happened:

• Hampden-Sydney scored a pair of first half goals and staved off a furious second half rally by the Yellow Jackets for the 4-2 result. Declan Shaw provided the early firepower for the Tigers as he assisted Jon Vergara in the 25th minute before he added his own score in the 27th on a helper by Kade Wheeler
• Wheeler later opened up the scoring in the second half as he found the back of the net unassisted after dribbling through the right side of the Randolph-Macon defense.
• Set pieces allowed the Jackets to get back into the game in a big way. After going finding few attempts resulting from six corner kicks in the opening frame, R-MC finally got on the board on its eighth corner of the contest. Colton Howell (Jr., Glen Allen, Va. / Glen Allen) sent it in and found Penny Senior (Jr., Kingston, Jamaica / Meadowbrook) who flicked it on via a header to an awaiting Jake Miklovic (Jr., Alexandria, Va. / Bishop Ireton) in the 62nd minute.
• Déjà vu then struck for the Jackets as they made it a one-goal game on an almost exact same set up. This time it was Andres Garcia (Jr., Fairfax, Va. / Bishop O'Connell) who took the corner and connected with Elijah Lloyd (So., Roanoke, Va. / North Cross) on the far post. Lloyd headed it towards the center where Ruben Niamien (Sr., Fredericksburg, Va. / Chancellor) found the back of the net on a header of his own.
• The momentum didn't last long as Hampden-Sydney put the game out of reach on a counter-attack when Wheeler found Davis breaking towards the net on a long pass in the 84th minute.

Inside The Numbers:

• R-MC was outshot by Hampden-Sydney 24-15, but held a strong advantage on corner kicks by an 11-3 margin.
• Anthony Ivanov (So., North Brunswick, N.J. / Immaculata) made six saves in goal, five of which came in the second half.
• Senior now has two points on two assists this season. He also served the helper on the game-winning goal at Bridgewater.

Up Next:

• The Jackets head back on the road this Sunday for a date with Emory & Henry at 3 p.m. They will return back to Nunnally a week from tonight to entertain Ferrum at 6 p.m.