MOUNT VERNON, Iowa – Men's soccer kicked off the 2025 season with a 5-1 road win over Cornell College on Friday, Aug. 29. Four different Knights scored a goal in the contest, including Aidan Mott's first career multi-goal game.
 
Match Summary

• First Half
  • Alima Mmunga recorded the first shot of the season for the Knights with an on-target attempt in the fourth minute that was saved
  • After back and forth play, Wartburg took control of possession and continued to fire shots at the Cornell defense
  • The Knights were able to break the tie in the 27^th minute following a corner kick from Flori Gembo that found its way to Carson Kay for the finish and put Wartburg ahead 1-0
  • In under a minute later, the Knights struck again when Mott beat the keeper, after an assist from Diego Sanchez, with a shot high into the back of the net to give Wartburg a 2-0 advantage
  • Kaleab Wendy continued the Wartburg attack with a shot on goal that was saved in the 35^th minute
  • Caleb Cross recorded Wartburg's first save of the match in the 38^th minute to keep the score 2-0 at halftime
• Second Half
  • Mott continued to attack the Cornell defense as he recorded two shots on goal in the first five minutes of the second half
  • In the 64^th minute, Mott found the back of the net for his second goal of the match and to push the Knights' lead to 3-0
  • Wartburg added another goal in the 73^rd minute when Kaleab Wendy buried a shot in the top left of the net after assists from both Landon Hartsell and Diego Sanchez
  • Cornell broke up the shutout in the 78^th minute after scoring on a penalty kick opportunity
  • Gembo put the finishing touches on Wartburg's win in the 88th minute with an unassisted goal ti give the Knights a 5-1 win

 
Top Performers

• Aidan Mott
  • Two goals scored
  • Four shots on goal
• Flori Gembo
  • Goal scored
  • Assist
• Carson Kay
  • Goal scored
  • 90 minutes played
• Kaleab Wendy
  • Goal scored
  • Two shots on goal

 
Notes/Streaks

• Third-straight season-opener win
  • The Knights are 6-1-2 in season openers under head coach Mike Madigan
• 12^th-straight win against Cornell
  • Wartburg now leads the all-time series 17-7-3
  • Outscoring Cornell 69-6 during the winning streak
• 10^th and 11^th career goal for Mott
  • First career multi-goal game
• 7^th career goal and 6^th career assist for Gembo
  • Recorded both a goal and assist in a game for second time in his career
• 5^th career goal for Kay
• 4^th career assist for Hartsell
• First two career assists for Sanchez
• First career start for Caleb Cross in goal

 
Next Time Out
The Knights will continue the 2025 season on Monday, Sept. 1 on the road against Bethel University.