There is one word that is overused perhaps more than any other in sports today. That word is “dominant.” It is thrown around so often in reference to teams and their performances that it has almost lost the power and meaning it used to have.

But if there were a performance that truly deserved to be labeled dominant, it would be the Castleton men’s soccer team’s 7-0 victory over SUNY Cobleskill on Sept. 11.

Castleton jumped all over the Fighting Tigers early as Trevor Kotrady, who has four goals in four games this season, pushed in what would be the winning goal off of a pass from Dameon Young just 14 minutes into the contest.

“Trevor is a good player,” coach John Werner said. ” He’s a handful for anybody to mark.”

Young wasn’t done offensively, though, as he knocked in a one-touch shot off of a pass from Spencer Danurand less than 10 minutes later.

Even though Castleton didn’t score again during the first half of play, it still forced Cobleskill to be alert as it bombarded the away team’s net with shots, landing 20 of them on net in just the first 45 minutes.

Cobleskill, on the other hand, mustered only three shots during that time.

With keeper Brian Faulkner ineffective in the first half, Cobleskill switched goalies for second half, placing Patrick Cobane in front of Castleton’s firing squad.

Cobane fared even worse, though, and the Spartans scored five more goals in the second half with 12 shots on goal.

Danurand got into the scoring nine minutes into the second half when Cobane came out of the net to retrieve a loose ball. Danurand got a foot on the ball, pushing it away from Cobane, who fell to the ground after running into his defender. Danurand chased the ball down and quickly tapped it in the open goal for the easy score.

 John Kendall accounted for two of Caslteton’s goals in just five minutes. The first was a laser beam of a shot from about 30 yards out that squeaked by the outstretched arms of a diving Cobane. The second was a header that redirected a pass from Dillon Zaengle into the back of the net.

Castleton’s offense was also boosted by goals from Tanner LeCuyer and Jack Hubbard.

“[Cobleskill] is a young team,” Werner said. “We were just man-for-man better players than they were. We just played better flat out. We had more talent and more experience.

With time in the second half waning, Cobleskill’s frustration grew, turning the game more physical. Several players from both teams were sent flying to the ground, and Kotrady and Cobleskill’s Taylor Gates received yellow cards in the 63rd minute of play.

Keeper Nate Koenemann made two saves in 71 minutes for the Spartans while Nolan Arentz and Travis Powers each played nine minutes without needing to make a save.

Castleton finished the game dominating the Fighting Tigers 32-5.

Castleton’s next game is on Sept. 14 when the Spartans host Plattsburgh State at 7 p.m.

Werner says Plattsburgh should be a good test for Castleton.

“Plattsburgh is one of our top two opponents with Middlebury,” Werner said. “That will be a  tough, tough game for us.”

Despite that, though, Werner is excited for the game.

 “We feel good about our team,” he said. “We love our guys. I’m optomistic.”