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WOOD RIVER - After losing their first game of the season in a 1-0 defeat to Clayton, the Marquette Catholic Explorers wanted to come out to remind everyone how clinical they can be.
They showed that and then some with an 8-0 defeat over the East-Alton Wood River Oilers at Gordon Moore Park on Tuesday night.
Marquette improves to 14-1-4.
This is the Explorers second-biggest margin of victory this season. On Sept. 13 they blew out Metro-East Lutheran 9-0.
“[Wood River] started with six at the back so there was always eight behind the ball and that was a little interesting dynamic. We haven’t faced teams that typically do that,” Marquette head coach Joe Burchett said. “It took us a little while to break it down. Once a goal or two came we could find little alleys to get through.”
Marquette midfielder Stephen Hasse obtained his second hat trick of the season while adding an assist. He now leads the team with 17 goals, 16 assists, and 50 points.
“The addition of Stephen adds something to us,” Burchett said. “He doesn't have the captains armband, but he’s very captain-like out there, and the boys have a lot of respect for him on the pitch. He can direct, he’s a good communicator. He makes a lot of things happen for us.”
Wood River falls to 12-9, and this is their biggest defeat since losing to 10-0 to Metro-East Lutheran 10-0 in the regional semifinals back in 2009. For most of the season, the Oilers have been without some starters and going up against arguably one of the best teams in the state it was going to be an uphill battle.
“When you play 15-19 games minus four starters and you play a quality team like [Marquette] you’re probably not going to fair well,” Wood River head coach Mike Lawson said. “Our biggest obstacle is injuries. We have quality players, but when you lose four real quick for most of the year, then it’s going to make it a longer year.”
Marquette put up five goals in the first half. Two from Hasse, and one each from Trenton Dietiker, Noah McClintock, and Nick LaFata. In the second half, Dietiker and Hasse added to their tally and Luke Atkinson found the back of the net as well.
The Explorers dominated possession and with that, were able to severely limit the Oilers star striker Ethan Moore who came into tonight as the leading scorer in the entire metro area with 42 goals.
“He’s a lethal person up top, but you only go as far as midfield goes,” Lawson said about Moore. “He ran all day today, and he’s got the wheels. [Marquette] had too much skill for what we were able to do,”
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