CEDAR RAPIDS — A pair of first-half goals by sophomore striker Miguel Pina (Chicago, Ill., Taft HS) was more than enough for the Central College men's soccer team as they eased to a 5-0 victory over Coe College Friday night.
The Dutch (7-3) opened the Iowa Conference season with its highest-offensive output in a league game since 2012.
It was the second multi-goal game for Pina after having a hat trick in a match against Augustana College (Ill.) earlier in August. Against the Kohawks (1-8-0), both of Pina's scores were headers.
"We had a good performance tonight," coach Garry Laidlaw said. "We brought great energy to the pitch. In particular, I thought Miguel was tremendous."
Pina also added an assist in the first half when Aroni Niyikiza (sophomore, Cedar Rapids, Washington HS)registered his second this year just before the 27-minute mark.
Assisting on Pina's goals were sophomore Kiel Pederson (Arlington Heights, Ill., John Hersey HS) and Logan Hoefer (sophomore, Bellevue, Neb., East HS).
Second-half goals by Zach Butters (junior, West Des Moines, Valley HS) and Seth Signs (junior, Grinnell) capped off the scoring for the Dutch.
"Zach does so much of the dirty work for this team," Laidlaw said. "It was nice to see him get rewarded with a penalty kick goal.
"Seth was trying to find his game in the first half. We had a chat at halftime and I thought he responded well. His second half was much better and he took his goal brilliantly."
Most importantly to Laidlaw, the victory gives Central three critical points in the conference standings as a daunting slate of league matches await on the horizon.
"We know the gauntlet that lies ahead," he said. "We came here to do a job today and the players executed well. Getting to where we want to be starts with getting back to work on Monday and preparing as best as we can."
Central returns to the pitch next Wednesday in a home match with conference rivals Simpson College at 4 p.m. Video webcasts and live stats for all home games can be accessed via the Central athletics website at www.central.edu/athletics or directly at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/central/ .
