MVNU (11-3-2), which received votes in the latest NAIA poll that came out on Tuesday afternoon, came out ready to play from the start as the Cougars’ crisp passing took control from the beginning of the match and never let up against the Eagles, who were ranked as high as No. 6 in last week’s NCAA Division II poll.

In the 15th minute, senior forward Adam Worrall (left) got the scoring under way for MVNU as he took a cross from sophomore midfielder Cody Snouffer and headed it in from the far side for a 1-0 lead. The goal was Worrall’s team-leading 16th of the season in 16 matches and his 26th in his last 26 matches. It also moved him into a tie for fourth place on the Cougars’ career scoring list at 38 goals with former standout and current assistant coach Josh Van Pelt.

The lead grew to 2-0 in the 29th minute when junior midfielder Chris Mast sent a cross to Worrall, who headed it to sophomore forward Rockey Cane. Cane finished off the play with a header of his own for his sixth goal of the season.

The score remained that way until midway through the second half when Cane struck again in the 67th minute. Senior defender Zach Patterson sent a free kick into the box. After the defense converged on junior defender Brady Swanson who failed to touch the ball, Cane ripped a shot into the back of the net for a 3-0 advantage and his seventh goal of the year.

With three seconds left in the match, Swanson got another chance on a free kick - this time from junior midfielder Scott Spangler. Swanson made sure he touched the ball this time as he blasted it into the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season to cap off the 4-0 victory.

MVNU held an 18-1 advantage in total shots, an 8-0 margin in shots on goal, and a 5-3 edge in corner kicks. Junior goalkeeper Alex Stout (right) posted his ninth shutout of the year and set a new school record with his 21st career shutout to break the old mark of 20 shutouts set by Trevor Knowles from 1999-2002. Meanwhile, Blaize Lishewski and Greg Habib both played a half in goal apiece for Ashland (13-2-1) and each allowed two goals with Habib recording four saves.

“This was a very impressive win for us today,” said MVNU coach Paul Furey. “I really liked the way we played for 90 minutes. We moved the ball extremely well. We did many things in a way that helped us take control early and pretty much keep the upper hand for most of the match.”

“Once again, Adam being a consistent scorer gave us the early lead,” said Furey. “It was also nice to have Rockey come in and give us a couple of goals. Alex is to be congratulated to on setting the school record for career shutouts in his junior year. This win will be something that we can really build on with two big conference matches left and then the postseason.”

The Cougars will return to action on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. when MVNU will host Daemen (N.Y.) College in an American Mideast Conference match. At halftime, the three seniors on the team (Worrall, Patterson, and Sheldon Tugman) will be honored. MVNU’s Student Government Association will also be sponsoring Dime-A-Dog Day.