The host Lords (5-1-0), who exceeded their win total of the entire 2006 season with the victory, took a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute when Felix Hoffman scored on a free kick from 35 yards out for his team-leading ninth goal of the year.

The score remained that way until the beginning of the second half when Ryan O’Connor scored on another long shot for Kenyon from the top of the box to extend the Lords’ lead to 2-0.

That would prove to be more than enough offense for Kenyon as MVNU (5-2-0) managed just four shots on the day against the Lords’ defense. Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Stout (left) posted two saves for the Cougars, while Jamie White notched one save as Kenyon won its fifth straight match and snapped a six-match losing skid to MVNU which dated back to 1995.

“Today was a tough day for us in that we just did not seem to get any rhythm of playing flowing with any consistency - partly due to our own lack of intensity and partly due to the fact that Kenyon played a tough, physical match,” said MVNU head coach Paul Furey. “We just did not create any good scoring opportunities for ourselves and (Kenyon) took advantage of the few that they had. Both goals were well-struck shots that we could not do very much about.”

“Kenyon is definitely a much-improved team from a year ago,” added Furey. “It was a good experience for us as we need to get accustomed to playing a physical game and we didn’t adjust the way that we needed to. This could become a very good rivalry in the years to come, and we are looking forward to the tough competition in this tournament for years ahead.”

The Cougars will look to bounce back from the loss when MVNU returns to action next Saturday with a home American Mideast Conference South Division match against Urbana University that will kick off at 1:00 p.m. at Cougar Field.