Kane's two goals pushes American University men to 3-0 win over Howard

Sophomore Alassane Kane scored two goals in his Eagles debut to lead the American University men\'s soccer team to a 3-0 victory over Howard on Wednesday afternoon at Reeves Field.

American (1-0) got on the scoreboard on a Jamie Davin rocket from 35 yards on a free kick in the 15th minute of the match. "He can hit a ball with both feet," commented Head Coach Todd West. "When we can get a free kick, we like our chances [with Jamie]."

The Eagles controlled the action for much of the first half with their patient style, and took that 1-0 advantage into halftime.

AU came out firing in the second 45 minutes, opening up the offensive attack and creating numerous scoring chances early in the half. Less than nine minutes into the stanza, Jack Scott slipped a pass behind the Howard defense to Kane, who converted the score to give American a 2-0 advantage.

Kane’s impact on the match continued, as less than a minute later, he earned the Eagles a penalty kick as he aggressively took the ball into Howard’s goalbox. Senior Mike Worden, however, was unable to convert the penalty kick, keeping the score at 2-0.

The Eagles remained on the attack, and continued to apply pressure on the Bison defensive unit. In the 61st minute, freshman Colin Seigfried threaded a pass behind the Howard defense to Kane on a similar-looking play to his first goal. In the same fashion, Kane snuck his shot past Howard goalkeeper Larry Turner to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead, a margin they would maintain for the remainder of the match.

"We got a lot of chances from [Kane in the exhibition matches] and he wasn\'t finishing,"
West said. "We worked with him on passing the ball into the goal...and he calmly tucked them away today. We\'re pretty pleased with how he finished those."

American outshot Howard (0-1) by an 18-11 margin in the match, and held an 11-4 advantage in shots on goal. In a match that was largely played in the American offensive end of the field, AU took 12 corner kicks to only four for the Bison.

AU goalkeeper Matt Makowski made four saves to earn the shutout, the 12th of his two-plus year career. 

This match was part of the annual D.C. College Cup, a title the Eagles have captured in five of the nine years it has been played. In the other D.C. College Cup match, which was also contested at Reeves Field on Wednesday, George Mason defeated George Washington, 3-1.

American’s victory coupled with the George Mason win sets up a D.C. College Cup Championship Game on Saturday at 3 p.m. between the two squads. George Washington and Howard will also meet Saturday at Reeves at 12 p.m.