Late Flurry Lifts Wildcats to 4-0 Victory over Mission

BALDWIN CITY - No. 23 Baker men's soccer took care of business in its final non-conference test of the season, using a string of late goals to finish off Mission, 4-0 on Tuesday night at Hartley Field.

Evans Osei Amankwah scored in the sixth minute to give Baker a quick one-goal cushion, but the score would remain that way for the next 73 minutes until the Wildcats reeled off three goals in the final 11 minutes to run away with the match.

Despite only leading by one for most of the night, BU completely owned the match in possession and offensive chances. The Wildcats racked up a whopping 19-1 disparity in shots with Mission's only shot attempt coming in the final minutes of the match.

Baker also held an 11-0 advantage in corner kicks earned, scoring off back-to-back corners in the second half after having the first wave of set pieces come up empty.

Just over five minutes into the match, a pass from Rens Rambaldo through the box found Amankwah, who was set up in a perfect spot to fire in his fourth goal of the season and make it a 1-0 lead for BU.

The Baker attack would continue to pepper the Patriots defense from there, but they were turned away until finally breaking through with a second goal in the 79th minute.

On the team's seventh corner kick of the match, Iwan Roberts' entry found Marco Salgado at the back post and Salgado connected on a one-touch finish to spark BU's late scoring spree.

Earning another corner just a few minutes later, the Wildcats scored on their second straight set piece with Utah Hester soaring for a header to complete the service from Akira Itadani this time.

Senior Kaden Keller got to garnish the night in the 87th with his first goal of the season and seal a 4-0 victory for the Wildcats.

The result marked the second straight shutout for a Baker defense that has now earned five total clean sheets this year. Keeper Camden Wiseman recorded his first solo shutout after combining for a clean sheet on Saturday with regular starter Maxot Arystanov.

It was also the first goals of the fall for Hester and Salgado with three of BU's four goals coming from players who are primarily defensemen in Hester, Keller and Salgado.

Itadani, Rambaldo and Roberts all recorded their second assists of the season with Roberts tallying multiple assists after reappearing in the starting lineup after a recent injury.

With the win, Baker picked up its third straight victory and moved to 6-4-1 overall. The Wildcats now shift back into conference play and will host Culver-Stockton on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Hartley Field as part of Homecoming weekend.

#BakerBuildsChampions