The Millikin men's soccer team put on a show for its home crowd on Senior Night, rolling to a 5-0 victory over Monmouth College on Saturday, September 6 at Frank M. Lindsay Field.
 
The Big Blue wasted no time setting the tone, as junior Olav Kaldahl struck twice in the opening eight minutes to give Millikin a commanding early lead. Senior Clayton Gibson extended the margin in the 16th minute with a goal, and freshman Blake Helvey added another, his first career goal, just before halftime off an assist from Kyle Borcherding.
 
Millikin capped the scoring early in the second half when senior Landon Welch found the back of the net in the 50th minute.
 
Defensively, senior goalkeeper Christian Smith was outstanding, turning away nine shots to earn the clean sheet. The Big Blue backline, led by Noah Horner and Eithan Shay, kept the Fighting Scots off balance despite Monmouth generating 11 total shots.
 
The Big Blue outshot Monmouth 14-11 and made the most of their offensive efficiency, putting five of their chances past the Scots' keeper.
 
With the victory, Millikin moves to 1-2-0 on the season and capped the night by celebrating the impact of its senior class, who played a key role in the win.
 
"The performance has been coming for the last few games. Finally, we found our cutting edge in front of the goal," said head coach Charlie Ward. "It was a great way to send off our seniors, and I know the guys put in that performance for them for everything they've gone through for this program."
 
The Big Blue will look to build on the momentum when they travel to Rose-Hulman on Saturday, September 13.