KANSAS CITY, Mo. | Bourke Field - No.17 McKendree University men's soccer (4-0-0, 1-0-0 GLVC) kicked off its Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule with a dominant 5-1 victory on the road over Rockhurst, firing three goals in the second half to solidify the effort. The Bearcats were led by senior midfielder Philipp Schmidt, who fired two goals in the game, including the game-winner. 17th-ranked McKendree continues its season-opening stretch on the road next weekend as it heads to Liberty, Missouri on September 20 to face WJC before taking on Truman State in Kirksville, Missouri on September 22. 

McKendree took a lead early on in the contest as a the Bearcats' pressure forced a costly mistake by the Hawks, an own goal, giving McKendree the 1-0 advantage in the 13th minute. In the 20th minute, McKendree posted another score as Schmidt fired his first score of the day off a dish-out by graduate midfielder Jacob Gruber. The Bearcats took their 2-0 lead into the halftime intermission. 

The second half saw Rockhurst cut the Bearcats' lead down to just one goal in the 55th minute but No.17 McKendree sped things back up following the score. In the 60th, Schmidt, yet again, found the back of the net with an assist by freshman midfielder Matthaeus Hirschmann on a cross into the box. The Bearcats then added another insurance score, with Hirschmann firing his second goal of the year with the assist going to graduate defender Matteo Schubert. 

McKendree's scoring wrapped up in the 73rd minute as sophomore midfielder Jay Sangha captured his first goal of the season from just outside the six-yard box as Schubert dished-out his second assist of the game.