LONDON – The Exeter Masters men’s soccer team traveled to London Friday to play a rival Forest City squad and left on a high after a 3-1 victory.  

Exeter controlled the play for the majority of the first half, with Pete McAllister, Shawn McFalls, Charlie Wise and Scot Davidson all having great scoring chances early.  

The Masters opened the scoring late in the first half when Shawn Tucker made a move to get around the Forest City keeper.

As Tucker was ready to shoot at the open net, he was hauled down and awarded a penalty shot. Tucker made no mistake, beating the keeper up the middle to make the score 1-0.

A couple of minutes later, Brian Westelaken stepped up on a clearance by Forest City and made a pass to McAllister who blasted a shot high, beating the keeper for a 2-0 advantage.

Pete Haakvort nearly made the score 3-0 on a strong individual effort, but his shot hit the crossbar.

In the second half, Exeter came out flat and was almost scored on a couple of times, but Exeter keeper Hilmar Kaumanns and defender Davidson bailed their teammates out.

The Masters added to their lead a short while later when the head of Tony Van Mierlo made contact with the ball off a corner kick. The redirection eluded the keeper for a 3-0 lead.

Exeter nearly padded its lead when Justin O'Rourke sent a high drive toward the net, but the Forest City keeper managed a save.
But Forest City didn't give up and scored on a beautiful through-ball to round out the scoring.

"We have had a few injuries of late, but we have still managed to play strong soccer despite them," said team spokesman McFalls. "Our game tonight was especially strong, with a good effort put forth by all players. Our (defence) has been consistent all year and tonight was no exception.”

The Masters sit in third place in the third division of the Middlesex Masters Soccer League. They see their next action at home on Friday night at 8 p.m.