BENTON HARBOR – The Niles varsity soccer team blanked host Benton Harbor 8-0 in the Big 16 Conference West Division opener for both schools.

The Vikings (3-3-1, 1-0 West) took a 7-0 lead at halftime and then ended the game early by scoring their eighth goal.

Christian Rackley scored a pair of goals and added an assist for Niles.

Rackley opened the scoring in the fourth minute on a cross from Cicone Palmore.

Dustin Wright made it a 2-0 contest with a goal in the 21^st minute off an assist from Derrick Nzabakira.

The lead reached 3-0 on a goal by Jonathan Eddy in the 26^th minute with an assist from Rackley, who then made it 4-0 with a goal in the 29^th minute as Eddy returned the favor and assisted on the play.

The final three goals of the opening half were scored by Palmore in the 33^rd minute, Eddy in the 39^th minute and Angel Magana just 10 seconds later.

Pierce Knoll had the assist on Eddy’s goal.

The lone goal of the second half came just three minutes into the period when Kassim Dafa scored.

“At the beginning of the game, Benton Harbor applied a lot of pressure to the ball and we were forced to spread the field, which is want we want to do anyways,” Niles coach Jerry Holtgren said. “It was an opportunity to try people in different positions and experiment with some different combinations.”

Niles…8

Benton Harbor…0

Halftime score

Niles 7, Benton Harbor 0

First half

N – Christian Rackley 4^th minute (Cicone Palmore assist)

N – Dustin Wright 21^st minute (Derrick Nzabakira assist)

N – Jonathan Eddy 26^th minute (Rackley assist)

N – Rackley 29^th minute (Eddy assist)

N – Palmore 33^rd minute (Pierce Knoll assist)

N – Eddy 36^th minute

N – Angel Magana 39^th minute

Second half

N – Kassim Dafa 43^rd minute

Shots on goal

Niles 23, Benton Harbor 0

Saves

Niles 0, Benton Harbor 10

Varsity record

Niles 3-3-1