Rayner Shines As Pilots Blank Rouges

(OTTERBURNE) - Garreth Rayner (Johannesburg, SA) scored once and assisted on two others on Sunday afternoon as Providence handed the St-Boniface Rouges a 4-0 defeat in Otterburne in MCAC men’s soccer action.

Rayner put the Pilots ahead in the 22^nd minute, the result of a freekick spotted 23-yards from the USB goal. Standing over the ball alongside teammate Joel Umeh (Calgary, AB), Rayner wrapped his magnificent right foot around the ball, placing his shot with precision around the Rouges wall and into the top corner of the goal. The Pilots took a 1-0 lead into the halftime break.

The precise passing that was consistent with the Providence attack in the first half, continued into the second. Two minutes after the team’s kicked off the second 45-minutes, Gurkarandeep Bhangu (Prince George, BC) and Isaac Aman (Calgary, AB) set the stage for Rayner to slide Umeh in on goal. The Pilots joint leading goal-scorer tapped past the approaching Rouges’ goalkeeper, Micah Prieur, for his sixth of the season and a 2-0 advantage.

In the 57^th minute, Umeh would provide the helper as the hosts to a 3-0 lead. Running along the Rouges backline, the striker received Rayner’s pass, and spotted a streaking Johannes Barnes (Brampton, ON) in space. The holding midfielder collected and drove in his first MCAC goal of the season, beating Prieur.

A final Pilots’ goal came in the 75^th minute from the head of Sean Kirkpatrick and from a perfectly placed Rayner freekick, taken on the right side of the penalty area. Lofted into the box, the Providence captain outjumped his defender, scoring his second of the weekend and sixth of the season.

Santiago Vasquez (Cochabamba, BO) stood in goal for the Pilots, stopping all six USB shots that challenged him and recording a clean sheet in the victory.