After being shut out 2-0 in last year’s meeting between the teams at Kenyon’s Mavec Field, the Cougars (3-2-0) got on the scoreboard early in the 18th meeting between the teams when sophomore defender Brady Swanson headed in a corner kick by junior midfielder Scott Spangler just 6:47 into the match for a 1-0 lead. The goal was Swanson’s third of the year.

The lead grew to 2-0 in the 19th minute when Cane (left) took a pass from junior midfielder Chris Mast and finished off the play for his third goal of the season.

After 20 scoreless minutes, the Lords (4-1-0), who are ranked No. 12 in the latest NCAA Division III poll, trimmed the deficit in half in the 39th minute when David Gold slipped a ball through to Jon Myers, who ripped a shot from the left side into the far net to close the gap to 2-1.

The score remained 2-1 going into the second half. Then, in the 57th minute, senior forward Adam Worrall beat several defenders and rifled a shot past Kenyon goalkeeper Jared Kunze to extend MVNU’s lead to 3-1. The goal was Worrall’s team-leading sixth of the year and kept his streak of scoring at least one goal in each match this season alive. It was also the 28th goal of his career as he moved into a tie with former standout Jay Forseth for 10th place on the school’s career list.

In the 85th minute, Spangler sent a through ball to a sprinting Cane, who fired a shot into the back of the net for his second goal of the match and a 4-1 lead.

Then, one minute later, he beat Kunze to a cross from Worrall and was able to get just enough on his shot to get the ball across the goal line to wrap up his first career hat trick and close out the scoring in the 5-1 victory. Cane now is second on the team behind Worrall with five goals on the season to already eclipse his scoring total from all of last year when he had four goals.

The Cougars held a 14-6 advantage in total shots, an 8-3 edge in shots on goal, and a 7-4 margin in corner kicks. Junior goalkeeper Alex Stout posted two saves for MVNU, while Kunze stopped three shots in goal for the Lords.

“I thought we did a real nice job today and once again came out early and ready to play,” said MVNU coach Paul Furey. “I think probably the guys felt that last year against Kenyon they did not perform well and they were eager to show that they were a lot better team and I think they did that today.”

“Rockey has been working really hard and that work ethic paid off for him today with the hat trick,” said Furey. “Our seniors also really played well. Zach (Patterson) in the back was very solid and Adam really took charge up front and showed the type of player that he is. Our midfield once again controlled things. We’ve been playing just solid all over the field. This was a nice win, but we realize that we have a big conference match on Friday and we will be preparing for that.”

The Cougars, who have now won three straight matches, will return to action on Friday at Malone College when they will open American Mideast Conference play with a 3:00 p.m. match.