McPHERSON, Kan. (Sept. 14, 2013) – Domenico DeGrazia and Brandon Little Axe each scored a pair of goals and Oklahoma Christian rolled to its second straight road win to start the season, a 6-0 rout of Central Christian (Kan.).
Everyone on the bench saw playing time for OC (2-0), which outshot Central Christian 29-9 and controlled the action throughout the game. The Eagles posted their highest single-game goal output since beating Southwestern (Kan.) 6-0 on Sept. 11, 2012.
The Eagles took control early, as in the third minute, DeGrazia crossed through traffic and played the ball to Little Axe in the center of the field before Little Axe beat Central Christian goalkeeper Alex Akrawi.
DeGrazia scored on a penalty kick in the 20th minute to put OC up 2-0. Less than a minute later, Troy Tippeconnic sent a low centering pass to Little Axe, who drilled a shot from 30 yards out and make it 3-0.
Cole Rinke knocked in a free kick under a wall from 35 yards out in the 34th minute for OC's fourth goal.
The Eagles added a pair of goals after halftime. In the 52nd minute, DeGrazia forced a turnover and fired a low shot through traffic toward the far post. It was his fifth goal of the season.
Rodgers Otieno scored his second career goal for OC in the 83rd minute on a play that began with a corner kick by Octave Mugiraneza, who received an assist on the play along with Tom Tippeconnic.
The Tigers' best chance to score came at the 18-minute mark of the first half, when OC goalkeeper Connor Davenport swooped in to grab a long cross into the penalty box before an onrushing CCC attacker could reach it.
Davenport made two saves in the first half, and Evan Helker had one save while playing the second half in goal for OC. Akrawi had seven saves for the Tigers.
OC will take its perfect record on the road again on Tuesday, when the Eagles will visit NCAA Division II No. 5-ranked Northeastern State, a national quarterfinalist in 2012. The Eagles frequently played the RiverHawks in the early days of the OC soccer program, but the teams haven't met since 1998.
