With just over two minutes remaining in the first half, freshman forward Rockey Cane broke a scoreless deadlock with a goal off an assist from senior midfielder Adam Pelak to give MVNU (10-4-1) a 1-0 lead. The goal was the fourth of the season for Cane, while Pelak registered his sixth assist of the year.

Seven minutes into the second half, senior midfielder Aaron Caluza (left) gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead when he took a pass from senior forward Steven Lesmes and scored his second goal of the season. For Lesmes, it was his team-leading seventh assist.

The lead grew to 3-0 in the 82nd minute when sophomore defender Brady Swanson headed in a set piece from freshman midfielder Cody Snouffer. The goal was Swanson’s fourth of the season.

Then, with just over a minute left in the match, freshman midfielder Jake Reber notched his first collegiate goal as he beat three defenders and slipped a shot into the side netting to close out the 4-0 victory.

MVNU held an overwhelming 31-6 advantage in total shots and a 10-1 edge in shots on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Stout (right) recorded one save in posting his sixth shutout and the team’s eighth shutout of the season. Jeff Spencer posted six saves for the Wildcats (4-9-1).

“This was definitely a nice win for us, especially playing on a field that was kind of tough to play on,” said MVNU head coach Paul Swanson. “I thought the way we came out the second half we completely took control of the match.”

“Rockey did a great job of coming off the bench and getting the first goal for us,” Furey added. “The contributions of our reserves have been a big part of our success this year. I was really happy for Jake, who has played so well for us as a freshman, as he beat three defenders and scored inside the far post. It was a goal for the highlight reel.”

The Cougars will return to action on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. when MVNU will travel to Roberts Wesleyan (N.Y.) College for another non-conference match against the Raiders.

“Overall, this was a nice win, but we know that we’ve got a bigger task in front of us on Saturday,” said Furey. “We’re going to enjoy this win briefly, but then we’ll prepare for a very important match at Roberts.”