HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. – Junior Michael Ogenyi (Virginia Beach) scored the only goal the Hampden-Sydney College soccer team would need just 49-seconds into the game with an assist from freshman Justin Varela (Midlothian) to help the Tigers to a 5-0 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) home win over visiting Ferrum College on Wednesday evening at Hellmuth-Gibson Field. The Tigers (5-6-2, 2-4-1 ODAC) had a 2-0 lead at the half, before scoring a trio of goals in the final 45 minutes to secure the win against the Panthers (2-12, 1-7 ODAC).

"Good team effort tonight all around by the guys," said fifth-year head coach Tommy DiNuzzo, "Scoring a goal in the first minute of the game really set the tone for us. Important three points and now we set our sights on a big matchup with Lynchburg this Saturday."

Both teams played a defensive game for the remainder of the first half, with H-SC taking six more shots and Ferrum with two. At 42:23, junior William Thornton (Charlotte, NC) put the Tigers up 2-0 with his first career goal off a pass from classmate Josiah King (South Boston). H-SC took four corner kicks in the opening stanza while preventing the Panthers from taking any.

With a 2-0 lead heading into the second half, it took the Tigers just 21 seconds to push the lead to three when freshman Matt Johnson (Virginia Beach) scored at 45:39 with an assist from Ogenyi. It marked Johnson's first goal of his career. H-SC's second goal of the half came when freshman Emory Davis (Palmyra) took a pass from sophomore Stefan Ngoh (Goldvein) just in front of the goal at 63:02 to give the hosts a 4-0 lead.

The final goal of the contest came from sophomore Jackson Burkhart (Raleigh, NC) on a backwards kick into the goal, with the assist coming from classmate Devin Kohout (Alexandria) at 73:22, giving the Tigers the 5-0 shutout win.

Senior goalie Ian Fitzgerald (Newport News) made two saves for his first career shutout while playing all 90 minutes in goal.

H-SC had the advantage over Ferrum in shots (27-4), shots on goal (10-2), and corner kicks (13-2). Fifteen different Tigers took shots on the evening, while five different H-SC players had an assist. The Panthers two shots on goal came from Callum Harris and Nathan Girardi.

The Tigers have now won five of the past six meetings with Ferrum, along with a scoreless draw in the ODAC Tournament this past spring, with H-SC advancing 3-2 in penalty kicks. Overall, the Tigers are 22-1-1 against the Panthers, dating back to 1987.

H-SC will host the University of Lynchburg at Hellmuth-Gibson Field on Saturday evening, October 23, at 7 p.m. It is part of Homecoming Weekend for the Tigers while also celebrating Senior Night during their last home game of the regular season.