NORTON, Mass. – Five different players scored for No. 8 Wheaton College (Mass.) men's soccer in a 5-0 rout over visiting Springfield College this afternoon in a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference contest this afternoon at Keefe Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.

The match was the season finale for both teams. The Lyons, who are ranked in the most recent United Soccer Coaches national poll, end the regular season with the first-ever unbeaten campaign in program history with a 14-0-4 overall record, including 7-0-1 in league play. The Pride slip to 7-9-1 and 3-4-1. 

Wheaton is the top seed in the upcoming NEWMAC Championship Tournament and will play the winner of fourth-seeded Emerson College and number five seed Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Thursday, November 6 in the tournament semifinals. Springfield will travel to New London, Conn. on November 4 to take on number three seed United States Coast Guard Academy for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff in the tournament's opening round.

The Lyons honored their senior class prior to the match, paying tribute to seniors Aidan Doyle (Kingston, Mass.), Joey Everett (Danbury, Conn.), Baden McLaughlin (Yarmouth, Maine), Kevin Morse (Acton, Mass.), Leao Nelson (Bar Harbor, Maine) and Michael O'Gara (Ardmore, Pa.). 

Wheaton dominated the match, owning a 29-4 shot advantage, including 16-1 in shots on net. The Lyons were awarded all eight corner kicks on the day.

Doyle finished the day with four points on a goal and two assists for Wheaton, while McLaughlin and first year midfielder Brent Karpowich (Cranston, R.I.) each collected three points with a goal and an assist apiece. O'Gara stopped the only shot he faced to record his seventh blank sheet of the season and 24th of his career. The victory was his 27th lifetime win to pull him even all-time with Drew Goodman '94 for sixth on the Lyons' career list. 

Neither team cracked the scoring column through the first 11 minutes of action, before Wheaton established control of the contest in a hurry with three goals in a span of 4:41. 

Junior back Jacques Violette (Madison, Conn.) put the home team on the board with his first collegiate goal coming off a corner kick in the 12th minute of play. Doyle served the ball into the box from the left corner flag, before junior midfielder Ben Kane (Pembroke, Mass.) headed the ball down in front of the goal for Violette, who pushed the ball into the back of the net to give the Lyons a 1-0 edge. The Blue and White tacked on another score just minutes later. McLaughlin carried the ball down the left side of the box, before sending a cross to Doyle in the middle of the box for a strike that found the back of the net on the right side for his ninth goal of the year. The score doubled the home team's lead with 29:49 remaining in the opening half. Wheaton added to its margin just 78 seconds later to take a 3-0 advantage. Junior forward Declan Rhatigan (Holderness, N.H.) settled the ball with his back to the goal line, before sending a short cross to Doyle. The senior then found McLaughlin for a shot lifted over the keeper for the Lyons' third marker of the match, and his fifth score of the season, in the 17th minute of play.

Wheaton continued its offensive pressure, netting its fourth goal in the 27th minute to take a commanding 4-0 lead in the first half. Karpowich collected a ball that clanged off a Pride defender and settled in front of him, before ripping a shot over the Springfield keeper for his second marker of the year in the 27th minute.

The Lyons capped the day's scoring with their fifth goal coming in the 57th minute of action. Karpowich found sophomore forward Gael Vera (Westminster, Mass.) in stride as he streaked toward the box, before flicking a shot past the Pride keeper, who came off his line to meet the ball. The marker was the ninth of the season for Vera to tie Doyle and Rhatigan for the team and NEWMAC lead with 33:39 to go in the match. 

Springfield's best chance to score came in the 80th minute on a penalty kick, but sophomore forward Arya Kouzehkanani's (South Hadley, Mass.) attempt went high and skipped off the cross bar and over the frame. The visitors also threatened to score in the seventh minute when they took advantage of a Wheaton turnover, but first year midfielder Parker Gustine's (Old Lyme, Conn.) low shot was denied on a sliding kick by O'Gara to stop the only shot he faced in the match.  

Senior goalie Noah Pote (Washington, Conn.) matched his career best with 11 saves for the Pride.