It turned into a family affair for the senior and freshman from Rockford, Ill., as their goals in the early going ignited what turned into AU's fifth win of the year when the Saints rolled in a non-conference home matchup against Calumet College of St. Joseph, 9-0.
Ashford (5-0, 0-0 MCC) beat CCSJ (3-3-1, 0-0 CCAC) for the first time in school history in emphatic fashion on Saturday, outshooting the Crimson Wave 34-5.
AU is in rarified company at the top of NAIA national standings, becoming just one of four schools in the country to be sitting at 5-0. Texas Wesleyan College is the only program at 6-0.
"It was good to get a little of the offense output that we've been expecting for a while," AU Head Coach Richard Markham said. "I challenged the starting lineup at halftime that they had 20 minutes to put away Calumet and they responded. Shutouts continue to be a big thing for us because we're a good defensive team."
The Saints peppered CCSJ goalkeeper Mario Sierra with shot after shot, exploding for six second-half goals. Eight different players found the net and the Saints played like a band of brothers in the rout.
The elder Garza (Eddie) and team captain put the Saints on the scoreboard with a header fed by junior transfer Vedran Ilic of Rockford, Ill. The Garza brothers and Ilic played together at Guilford High School.
A freshly subbed Kyle Mantick of Peoria came in off the bench and eluded a CCSJ defender to feed a darting Nick De Backer of Antwerp, Belgium, at the top of the box for his first of two goals in the game. Ashford led 2-0 at that point.
That's when the younger Garza (Geraldo), affectionately known as "Waldo" by his teammates, cashed in on his second goal of the year to give the Saints a four-point cushion shortly after the second half began.
"It definitely has a little more meaning and I'm excited that we could both score on Family Weekend," Geraldo said afterwards. "We've played together in high school and club and it's fun to be playing together at the collegiate level."
"I'm proud of what we did today and hopefully we can do it again this year," added Eddie. "It's nice to have that brother-to-brother connection on and off the field.
De Backer found the net twice, evoking memories of his preseason showing when he recorded AU's first goals, albeit unofficial, of the year against Carl Sandburg College. He also assisted Ilic, a transfer from the University of Akron, on his first goal in a Saints uniform.
Matt Escoto of Geneseo, Ill., and Edwin Enriquez of Quito, Ecuador, worked the middle of the field as they each recorded a pair of assists in the second half. Senior Taylor Shipman of Clinton scored his first career goal on a header and sophomore All-MCC midfielder Michael Handley of Webb City, Mo., also tallied the first goal of his young career.
Enriquez assisted sophomore midfielder Rafael Machado's second goal of the year in the late stages for the final score. Machado fed sophomore captain Nathan Billany of Yorkshire, England, for his first goal of 2009 in the first half when he rifled a shot over the outstretched arms of Sierra.
Junior goalkeeper Nick Roman of Belvidere, Ill., pitched his third consecutive shutout by making two saves and all of Ashford's active players on the roster were able to see game action with the exception of injured senior forward Soroush Kalhor of Rock Island, Ill.
The Saints open the Midwest Collegiate Conference schedule next week as they host Mt. Mercy College on Tuesday. Game time is set for 3 p.m. on the AU Soccer Field.
