Arlington, Va. – Marymount University's men's soccer squad unleashed some serious firepower on Wednesday night, downing Shenandoah 6-0 in a twilight tilt at Long Bridge Park.  With strong performances at both ends of the turf, the Saints improve to 2-5 on the year.

"A shutout just helps the whole defense and the keepers to calm down and relax a bit," said Marymount netminder Logan Cropper after collecting his first shutout of the season.  "It definitely boosts our confidence, as well as all the goals and all the finishing we had throughout the game."

The Saints offense showed off both finesse and rage across its various tallies, with sophomore strikers Ahmed Elmanialawy and Allen Gibbs paving the way.

Elmanialawy took the finesse approach, using fancy footwork and impressive touches to chip in three goals – his second hat trick in just three matches.  Elmanialawy leads the Saints with seven goals on the season.

Gibbs, on the other hand, used pure power to punch his two blasts past Hornet keeper Francisco Nolasco.  His first strike came on a free kick, laced with serious venom and a vicious late break.  Not even two minutes later, Gibbs buried his second tally in the back of the net – a shot and striking distance with which he's become quite familiar.

"If I can get the ball off a touch, roll it out, and hit it – that's my go-to," admitted Gibbs.  "Overall, the offense missed only a couple chances today, and the rest we just put away."

The Saints fired off 16 total blasts on the night, 11 of which squarely found the target, including the Saints sixth and final strike from freshman Shawn Morrow.  An efficient offense, indeed.

Not slated to return to action until next Wednesday, the Saints look to use the coming week to prepare for regionally-ranked Gettysburg.

 "We beat them last year with a late game-winner," Gibbs added.  "This year, we don't want it to come down to that."

Match time is set for 7 p.m. at Long Bridge Park.