Davis strikes twice in the victory for the lyons

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Wheaton College men's soccer team, ranked No. 18 overall in the D3soccer.com national poll, delivered 21st year head coach Matt Cushing his 300th career win on Wednesday night as the Lyons defeated Bridgewater State University, 4-0, in non-conference action at Swenson Turf Field.

Cushing, who has been at the helm of the program since 1994, improves to 300-96-40 (.734) overall in his career to become the 43rd men's soccer coach in NCAA Division III history to reach the 300-win milestone. Cushing entered the 2014 season with the 45th best winning percentage among all NCAA coaches, regardless of division, with a record of 288-94-39 (.730) and the 15th highest winning percentage among all NCAA Division III  active coaches.

Wheaton broke out for three goals in the first half en route to its second-straight victory and third overall in its last five contests. Sophomore midfielder/back Kevin Davis (Beacon, N.Y./Beacon) registered his first career multi-goal game in the first stanza, while senior midfielder Matheus Goncalves (Framingham, Mass./Worcester Academy) opened up the scoring in the 25th minute. Junior midfielder Noah Kossoff (New York, N.Y./Birch Wathen Lenox School) 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 the 20:49 mark. First-year forward Liam Daniels (New York, N.Y./Northfield Mount Hermon School) set up the tally with a cross into the middle of the box to Goncalves who was wide open for the early strike.

Davis extended the advantage to 2-0 in the 31st minute with a header off of a corner kick from junior forward/midfielder Kevin Gil (Pawtucket, R.I./Wheeler School). Davis struck home his second goal of the season with a perfectly placed ball towards the left side of the net after Gil lofted a cross to the far right post.

Davis went on to cap the scoring in the first half at the 43:13 mark by tapping in a throw-in with his foot near the right post via first-year midfielder Sean Hurlburt (Kingston, Mass./Silver Lake) who was positioned at the far-left sideline.

In the second half, Bridgewater State manufactured three quality scoring chances as junior forward Conor Murtagh (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) and sophomores Andrew Chenard (Kingston, Mass./Silver Lake) and Colby LeSage (Maynard, Mass./Maynard) 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./Northfield Mount Hermon School) 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 7-0-0 (third shutout, five saves). Bridgewater State first-year goalkeeper Colin Golden (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) stopped one shot in the first half, while sophomore John Fisher (Norwell, Mass./Norwell) had two saves in the final stanza.

Wheaton outshot Bridgewater State, 17-12, and also held a 6-2 differential in corner kicks.

Wheaton (12-2-1, 4-0-0 NEWMAC) hosts Emerson College this Saturday on Homecoming Weekend at Keefe Field at noon. Bridgewater State (6-7) travels to Mass. Maritime on Friday for a conference tilt at 7 p.m. With tonight's win, Wheaton improves to 19-2-0 in the all-time series, which dates back to 1992.

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