ELLISVILLE – Braden Buchanan scored a brace in the opening 18 minutes and No. 4 Jones College remained unbeaten with a dominant 7-0 victory over Dyersburg State on Thursday night at the Bobcat Soccer Complex.
Jones (6-0-1) scored four times in the opening half and three more after the break while holding Dyersburg State (0-4) without a shot for the entire match.
Buchanan wasted little time putting the Bobcats in front, scoring off an assist from Calvin Harrison in the 7th minute. The sophomore struck again 11 minutes later, this time finishing a feed from Mario Novaku to make it 2-0.
Novaku picked up his second assist of the night in the 27th minute when Stanley Georgiou found the back of the net for his first goal of the match.
Harrison pushed the advantage to 4-0 with an unassisted goal in the 36th minute, giving him three points in the opening half with a goal and an assist.
Jones continued the pressure immediately after halftime. Louie Fitzpatrick scored in the 49th minute off a Dawson Dykes assist to extend the lead to 5-0.
An own goal in the 65th minute made it 6-0 before Jackson Warren capped the scoring in the 89th minute. Sam Rogers assisted on Warren's goal.
Six different Bobcats accounted for the team's six credited goals, led by Buchanan's two-goal performance. Novaku finished with two assists, while Harrison added a goal and an assist. Georgiou, Fitzpatrick and Warren each scored once.
Jones controlled the match from start to finish, outshooting Dyersburg State 29-0, including a 23-0 advantage in shots on goal. The Bobcats attempted 14 shots in the opening half and 15 in the second.
Dyersburg State goalkeeper Gage Foster made 16 saves while facing the Bobcats' 23 shots on goal.
Jones used three goalkeepers in combining for the shutout. Aiden Reiter played the opening 45 minutes before Teshaun Norris and Jordan Taylor split time in the second half. None of the three was required to make a save as the Bobcat defense prevented Dyersburg State from recording a shot.
Jones opens MACCC play at home Tuesday night, welcoming East Mississippi for an 8 p.m. kick.
Tickets are $8 at jcbobcats.com/tickets or $10/$11 cash/card at the entrance. The match will be live streamed at jcbobcats.com/watch.
