Box Score

Wheaton, Ill. - Drew Golz didn't have much time to gel with his teammates when he first came to Wheaton College this August. After securing his release from the Air Force Academy, the 2009 season opener was only a few days away and he didn't even get a chance to practice with the team.

But it didn't take long for Golz to make an impact. The sophomore forward scored one goal and added two assists in Wheaton's 4-0 victory over Taylor University on Saturday at the Bob Baptista Invitational.

The No. 23-ranked Thunder improved to 2-1-0 while the Trojans fell to 1-5-0.

A cursory glance suggests that Golz (PICTURED TOP) looks like he should be lining up on the hashmarks of McCully Stadium rather than at Joe Bean Stadium right next door. At 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, Golz frequently resembles a linebacker rumbling around on the pitch.

"I'm afraid Coach Mike Swider might try to take him away to play football," Wheaton soccer head coach Mike Giuliano joked. "He's just a force up there. He's everything we wanted and more. We've been asking him to try to impose his physicality even more and really dominate up top."

The Wheaton offense continued its early season assault against Taylor on Saturday. The pressure attack paid off early on a corner kick in the 14th minute. Golz headed the ball across the goal box to defender Jon Humphrey, who took the ball on one bounce and used a swinging-door left-footed blast to give Wheaton the 1-0 lead.

The second goal came at 27:06 in unusual fashion. After one Wheaton player whiffed on a kick attempt and fell, defender Dan Pavlak punched the ball out from the crowd straight to the foot of Golz, who quickly made the score 2-0.

Golz wrapped up his scoring night in the 70th minute on an offensive rush, crossing the ball in front to a streaking Kristian Rosenberger (PICTURED RIGHT) for the putaway. The final goal came three minutes later as Rosenberger setup a similar shot that was drilled into the netting by senior Phil Masters.

Wheaton's offensive dominance was evidenced by the shot totals as the Thunder held a 34-11 advantage in the game, including 22-6 in the first half. Corner kicks were similarly lopsided, 17-4 in favor of the Thunder.

"The irony is we were clicking on all cylinders in the first game of the season, and we missed a bunch of point blank chances," Giuliano said. "I feel good about our offense right now. But I'm feeling better and better about our young defenders Humphrey and Pavlak."

The Thunder continue their season on September 11 with a match at Calvin College.