First-Half Outburst Propels Men’s Soccer Past Wheelock

BOSTON, Mass. – Ignited by a six-goal opening frame, the Eastern Nazarene College men's soccer team cruised to an 8-0 non-conference win over Wheelock Wednesday afternoon at Sweeney Field on the campus of Wentworth Institute of Technology. The Lions lift their overall record to 2-1 while the Wildcats begin the season with an 0-1 mark.

The Lions tallied the match's opening goal in the fifth minute of play. Senior Seagers Rodrigues (Belgaum, India) recorded his first career goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Eastern Nazarene doubled its advantage less than a minute later as Troy Cohee (Gardnerville, Nev.) netted his first marker of the 2012 campaign.

The Lions tacked on their third goal of the first half in the 24th minute. Luis Lopez (Alexandria, Va.) headed home a corner kick served into the box by Edgar Arceo (Minden, Nev.) for his team-leading second of the fall.

Lopez found the back of the net for the second time in the match, finishing a feed from Arceo in the 37th minute to extend his team-high total to three goals on the season. The sophomore's second goal of the contest increased Eastern Nazarene's margin to four, 4-0. The duo combined for a quick give-and-go before Lopez unleashed a shot into the right corner of the cage.

Less than two minutes later, Cameron McCormack notched the Lions' fifth tally of the opening frame. Arceo picked up his third assist of the game on McCormack's first goal of the year.

McCormack tacked on his second score of the day in the waning minutes of the first half, running Eastern Nazarene's advantage to 6-0. The sophomore corralled a rebound in the penalty area before slotting the ball into the net. Rookie William Campbell (Anchorage, Alaska) registered his first collegiate point on the play as he collected an assist.

The visitors owned a commanding 30-4 gap in shots through 45 minutes of action while also earning three corner kicks and conceding zero.

In the second stanza, Josh Kaplan (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) picked up his first marker of the season in the 67th minute to push the lead to 7-0. Scott Hansen (Middletown Springs, Vt.) passed the ball across the face of the goal for the senior to one-time past the keeper.

Kaplan picked up his second tally of the contest in the 70th minute as his header found the back of the net to give the Lions an 8-0 advantage. Rookie Jonathan Stiles (Duxbury, Mass.) dished out his first collegiate assist on the score as he provided a lofted cross to the right post for Kaplan to connect with the header.

The match was called after 70 minutes of play as ENC picked up its second victory of the fall.

Eastern Nazarene finished the match with 36 shots, including 22 on frame. Wheelock ended the contest with five shot attempts on the day.

Freshman Jared Egeler (Danbury, Conn.) stopped three shots in his first career start between the pipes for the Lions. Egeler also earned his first shutout in his first collegiate appearance.

Sunshine Shearer recorded 14 saves in goal for the hosts while also absorbing the loss.

Eastern Nazarene will kick off league action September 8 as it hosts 2011 Commonwealth Coast Conference finalist Nichols at Quincy's Veterans Memorial Stadium at 7 pm.