CHOCOWINITY — Four goals from Jesse Lohman were the difference in the Southside soccer team’s 5-1 victory over Farmville Central on Wednesday.

Utilizing an offside trap defensively and containing the Jaguars’ attack at midfield, the Seahawks won the possession battle, limiting the visitors to 11 shots, just four on net.

“I think we played well and ball movement was good,” said head coach John Lohman. “We’re doing what we want to do, which is hold it in the middle, draw it in and kick it back to the outside. They gave us a lot of balls right down the middle tonight, so we’ll take it.”

Southside finished with 22 shots, 10 of which were generated by the right foot of Lohman, as solid play in the midfield from Devin Guzman and Caleb Petty created consistent opportunities for the host’s star attacking midfielder.

The Seahawks offense came out sluggish in the first half, allowing a pair of opportunities at net for the Jaguars, but they eventually picked up the pace and took control of the match’s tempo. After multiple shots, midfielder Daniel Lopez slid a pass through the Farmville Central back line in the 20th minute, opening up space for Lohman to accelerate and hit a one-timer past the goalie to break the deadlock.

From there, Southside rained shots down on Jaguars’ keeper, requiring three-straight diving saves. Then, with 10 minutes remaining in the half, Lohman found David Romero on the edge of the box and Romero chipped a left-footed shot past the keeper’s outstretched hand, perfectly into the right upper 90 to put Southside up 2-0.

Four minutes before the end of the half, the Seahawks added to their total in immaculate fashion. With the ball trickling to the end line, Guzman sprinted, prevented the ball from going out of bounds, turned and fired a perfect cross into the box. At the same time, Lohman cut across field and connected, blasting a header into the back of the net, giving Southside a 3-0 lead at the break.

Defensively, it was fullback Ethan Harris who used his speed to prevent scoring opportunities and spawn counters up field in the first half. Lohman considers the position essential in what Southside is trying to accomplish this season.

“We’ve got a lot more speed at fullback this year,” coach Lohman said. “When you have speed at fullback, it allows you to push up field and it forces the other team into these long runs where you can catch up to them and force them out of bounds. If we’re able to do that against most teams we’ll be in good shape.”

In the second half, the Farmville Central midfield attempted to shift the momentum by pressing the Southside back line, resulting in limited defense but increased offense. Farmville managed eight shots in the second half, including a goal from striker Stefon Vines 15 minutes in. As fatigue began to set in for Farmville Central, the Seahawks capitalized.

With nine minutes remaining, following a Vines missed breakaway attempt, Southside quickly countered up field, getting the ball to Lohman, who received a through ball from Petty and tapped a shot past the keeper to seal his hat trick. Seven minutes later, Lohman picked up goal No. 4 in similar fashion.

With the win, Southside improves to 2-0 and will face Perquimans on Wednesday in Chocowinity.