Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall forward Moo Gay (30) weaves his way through the defense during a boys soccer game against Tri-City United in Marshall on Tuesday night. The Tigers defeated the Titans 8-1.

MARSHALL — The offensive firepower of the Marshall boys soccer team only grew stronger as the game progressed when the Tigers hosted Tri-City United on Tuesday night. The Tigers scored three goals in the final five 15 minutes of the first half and closed the game with an 8-1 final score to pick up their fifth consecutive victory.

Tri-City United was riding a three-game win streak to a 7-2-1 overall record heading into Tuesday’s game but Marshall didn’t let that momentum carry on to their home turf. The Tigers seized possession early and hardly let the Titans control the ball in the attacking third.

“We were switching the ball nicely so the ball possession was good and we tired them out,” Marshall head coach Tony Correa said. “Once we got the first goal, we felt confident with our shots. We had good looks, we just kind of put them behind the keeper in the first half before we got the goal.”

While the Tigers got off several good shots early, including a screamer from Isaiah Argueta that clanged off the crossbar before bouncing inches in front of the goal line before going out for a corner kick, they couldn’t convert until the 27th minute.

Moo Gay received the ball at the perimeter of the penalty box and sent a hard bouncer through traffic. The shot made it past the TCU defense and glanced off the lower left post before finding the back of the net for the go-ahead goal.

Once it rained, it started to pour. Five minutes later Jared Hernandez fired off a shot from the crest of the penalty box. A Titan got a piece of the ball but, with the goaltender already going the other way to attempt the save, the deflection assisted the shot in its path across the goalline for a 2-0 Marshall lead.

With under five minutes remaining before halftime, Mason Graven scored what may have been the clincher. Karsten Springborg gained possession of the ball along the goalline to the right of the post. He sent a centering pass back toward Graven and the senior midfielder capitalized on the opportunity to make the score 3-0 Marshall.

As a team, Marshall had five different goal-scorers in the seven-goal win, something that Correa took pride in.

“It’s perfect because last year, they [opposing defenses] were probably just worried about Moo Gay. They’ve got to defend him and it draws attention to him, but it also opens up for everyone else to make the right play,” Correa said. “As long as they’re making the right runs and they’re communicating with their teammates, people should be able to see them and hit the pass.”

Roberto Garcia Lopez recorded seven saves in goal for the Tigers as they outshot TCU 10-8.

Sabino Us got a fourth-chance goal for Marshall in the 63rd minute. On a possession in which a Marshall header clanged off the crossbar and another shot got stuffed as it was kicked. Escamilla recovered the shot and quickly tried to get off another, but the ball was deflected as it came off his right foot. Yet, he once again recovered the loose ball and fired off another shot — this time with his left foot — that sailed above the keeper’s reach and found the back of the net.

Less than a minute later, Marshall stole the ball immediately after play resumed and Moo Gay got the ball one-on-one with the goalkeeper on the fastbreak. Instead of taking the shot, he passed the ball back to Isaiah Argueta, who finished for a 5-0 lead.

Marshall capped off the scoring with another goal from Argueta in the 77th minute and Argueta followed up with his third of the day a minute later, stumbling his way through traffic as he crashed into the back of the net along with the ball for a 7-1 Marshall lead.

Marshall improves to 7-2 overall with the win. The Tigers will look to pick up their sixth consecutive victory when they go on the road to face the reigning section champion Worthington Trojans on Thursday at 7 p.m.

“We need to just not give up on any play. We know what we have to do as far as scoring,” Correa said, adding that he’s hoping to see his team net three or more goals. “We’ve just got to finish our chances. I remember that last game, we had a lot of chances. I thought we got out-possessed, but that was just us being stingy on the ball and not releasing the ball in time, I think if we can keep up the intensity of our passing today for Thursday and Friday, we’re going to need it because we can’t just be chasing the ball.”

Worthington defeated Marshall 4-1 when the teams met in Marshall on Sept. 3, with Us scoring the Tigers’ lone goal.