RICHMOND, Indiana - The Wilmington College men's soccer team, which held a distinctive 25-1 shots advantage including a 15-1 discrepancy in shots on goal, broke a scoreless tie in the 88th minute to defeat Earlham College 1-0 in the season opener for both teams on Wednesday afternoon.

The victory in the Quaker Bowl Rivalry was the Fightin' Quakers' third consecutive shutout victory over the Hustlin' Quakers. 

Wilmington enjoyed the majority of possession on the afternoon at Matlack-Messer Field, peppering 11 shots on Earlham goalkeeper Tyler Smith in the first half. Seven of those were on goal, but Smith and the host's defense was up to the task and kept the clean sheet into halftime.

The visitors kept the pressure on in the second, firing 14 shots to just one for Earlham. Despite the overwhelming advantage in possession and offensive chances, Wilmington looked destined for overtime as a shot off the foot of Ryan Forino went high in the 86th minute. Less than two minutes later, however, Yusef Muqtadir broke through the Hustlin' Quaker defense and scored the game's only goal.

Alongside the shots advantage, Wilmington earned nine corner kicks compared to zero for Earlham. Felix Maurer tallied one save and earned the shutout victory to begin the season.

Wilmington (1-0-0) hosts two more Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) foes in Manchester University (Friday) and Mount St. Joseph University (Sunday) as part of the 2021 Kiwanis Classic.