Bruins score early, often

David Graham told his Rock Bridge soccer team to start quickly.

It listened, and it did.

The Bruins scored three goals in the first seven minutes, defeating Fulton 10-0 at Cosmopolitan Park on Tuesday. The game ended in the 27th minute of the second half because of the 10-goal rule.

“We feel that in order to be a good team we have to come out hard in the beginning of games,” Graham said. “We have to dictate the game’s speed and style of play rather than let it be dictated to us.”

Matt Lightner, Marco Pagoada, Michael Ferguson and David Hilderbrand scored twice, and Graham was able to empty his bench late in the game.

Adam Reed and Kyle Reznicek also scored.

Lightner scored the first goal in the fourth minute, and it was evident early that the Hornets were going to struggle.

Fulton did not have the burst of speed that was essential in creating mismatches, something Rock Bridge (4-1) used heavily to its advantage.

The Bruins’ quick strikers raced past defenders to create easy scoring chances.

Speed is one of Rock Bridge’s strengths, and the team is effective at putting itself in position to give opponent fits.

“(Speed) is definitely important because we’re very skilled, and it’s important to us to get down on the wings and get one-on-one because that’s when we score goals,” Lightner said.

Bruins goalkeeper Tanner Mills earned his third shutout of the season, although he was rarely tested.

The Bruins took an 8-0 halftime lead, and Hilderbrand made a great play to make it 9-0.

Using his dribbling to weave past and around traffic, Hilderbrand scored an unassisted goal with a shot to the upper left-hand corner.