Comets strike early in shutout win

Nhlakanipho Ngubane scored 27 seconds into the match and Aimar Aramendia earned a clean sheet as the Western Iowa Tech men's soccer team beat Briar Cliff JV 3-0 in WIT's home opener on Thursday.

The Comets (2-2-1) held the Chargers to just one shot on goal for their second shutout of the season.

While head coach Alex Scheuler said his team's play was far from perfect, he commended his young squad for performing while dealing with its first taste of competition during the middle of a school week.

"As a team of freshmen, this was a challenge with it being our first home game, first day going to class and then playing after," head coach Alex Scheuler said.

Ngubane's goal came on the first of only two first-half shots for the Comets. Aran Hernandez, who assisted on Ngubane's strike scored WIT's second goal of the game off a ball from Zak Mahammed in the 61st minute. Mahammed then scored on a feed from Joao Trigueiro to cap the Comets' scoring.

The Comets generated eight shots on goal.

Mahammad was one of many key contributors who came off the WIT bench. Vincent Rouzier and Edwin Garibay also provided a boost.

"Some guys came off the bench ready to play and raised the level (of play) -- which was needed in a game like this," Scheuler said.

The Comets play State Fair Community College (Sedalia, Missouri) at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Bishop Heelan Memorial Stadium.

"Looking forward to the next match and putting together a more complete perfomance," Scheuler said.