SPEARFISH, S.D. — The Spearfish Spartans boys soccer team delivered an offensive outburst Thursday, Sept. 17, defeating the Douglas Patriots 8-0 at the Black Hills Energy Power Sports Complex.
Elijiah Ruml and Caleb Verhulst led the attack with hat tricks as the Spartans scored five times in the first half before adding three more after halftime.
Ruml wasted little time getting Spearfish on the board, scoring with 24:39 remaining in the first half. Less than a minute later, Ruml struck again with 23:46 remaining to quickly give the Spartans a 2-0 advantage.
Spearfish continued to apply pressure as the half progressed.
Verhulst scored his first goal with 13:13 remaining to extend the lead to 3-0. Brekken Arsaga followed just 41 seconds later, finding the back of the net with 12:32 remaining to make it 4-0.
Verhulst added his second goal with 9:58 left in the half, sending Spearfish into halftime with a commanding 5-0 lead.
The Spartans picked up where they left off in the second half.
Verhulst completed his hat trick with 17:26 remaining, giving him three goals on the night and pushing Spearfish’s advantage to 6-0.
Ruml joined him in the hat-trick club less than two minutes later. His third goal came with 15:37 remaining, extending the Spartans’ lead to seven.
Luke Jarvis put the finishing touches on the victory with 4:44 remaining, scoring Spearfish’s eighth and final goal.
The Spartans finished the night with eight goals from four different players, highlighted by six combined goals from Ruml and Verhulst. Spearfish also kept Douglas off the scoreboard to secure the 8-0 shutout.
The victory improved Spearfish to 7-2-2 on the season.