BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The 18th-ranked Wheaton College men's soccer team blanked host Bridgewater State University, 4-0, on Wednesday night at Swenson Field.
The win marked the 300th for Lyons' head coach Matt Cushing (21st Year). Cushing, who has been at the helm of the Wheaton men's soccer program since 1994, improves to 300-96-40 (.734) overall in his career as he became the 43rd men's soccer coach in NCAA Division III history to reach the milestone.
The Lyons, who are ranked in the D3soccer.com Poll, improve to 12-2-1 on the season, while the Bears slip to 6-7.
Wheaton broke out for three goals in the first half en route to the victory over its Southeastern Massachusetts rival. Sophomore midfielder Kevin Davis (Beacon, N.Y.) registered his first career multi-goal game in the first stanza, while senior midfielder Matheus Goncalves (Framingham, Mass.) opened up the scoring in the 25th minute. Junior midfielder Noah Kossoff (New York, N.Y.) added his fifth goal of the season with a header in the 74th minute.
In the first half, Goncalves netted his third goal of the season with a low shot into the left corner of the net at 20:49 mark. Freshman forward Liam Daniels (New York, N.Y.) set up the tally with a cross into the middle of the box.
Davis extended the advantage to 2-0 in the 31st minute with a header off of a corner kick from junior forward Kevin Gil (Pawtucket, R.I.).
Davis went on to cap the scoring in the first half at the 43:13 mark by tapping in a long throw-in near the right post via freshman midfielder Sean Hurlburt (Kingston, Mass.).
In the second half, Bridgewater State manufactured three quality scoring chances as junior forward Conor Murtagh (Walpole, Mass.) and sophomores Andrew Chenard (Kingston, Mass.) and Colby LeSage (Maynard, Mass.) looked to break up the shutout for the Bears.
Murtagh just missed a shot that looked destined to sneak inside the right post from the right flank after he gained clearance past Wheaton's backline for a 1-on-1 opportunity with junior goalkeeper Matt Dickey (Newton, Mass.) at the 54:57 mark. Chenard had his scoring bid turned away at 57:31 as Dickey came off his line and cut down the angle towards goal with an aggressive run towards the top of the box.
Dickey then preserved the shutout in the 72nd minute as he punched a header opportunity by LeSage over the crossbar to keep his record clean on the season at 7-0 (third shutout). Bridgewater State freshman goalkeeper Colin Golden (Mansfield, Mass.) stopped one shot in the first half, while sophomore John Fisher (Norwell, Mass.) recorded two saves in the final stanza.
Wheaton outshot Bridgewater State, 17-12, and also held a 6-2 differential in corner kicks.
The Bears are back in action on Friday night at seven when they travel to Massachusetts Maritime Academy for a key MASCAC game with the Buccaneers. The Lyons entertain NEWMAC foe Emerson College on Saturday at noon.