Early on in the match, the visiting Panthers (4-2-1) seemed to possess the ball more in the midfield than MVNU did, but it was the Cougars (5-2) who managed to get on the scoreboard first in the 26th minute when junior midfielder Cody Snouffer laid off a pass to sophomore forward Chris Allen right in front of the goal. Allen (left) blasted the ball into the back of the net for his team-leading fourth goal of the season with Snouffer registering his team-best fifth assist.

From that point on, MVNU began to control the action and really had the best of the play. The Cougars had several other scoring opportunities, but they where unable to convert as MVNU finished with a 12-11 edge in total shots and a commanding 6-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Ohio Dominican, which actually led 7-3 in shots on goal, kept the pressure on to try to equalize. With 6:10 left in the match, the Panthers had a couple of cracks at trying the match with two shots inside the box, but the Cougars’ back line was up to the task as one shot was blocked by a defender and another was saved by senior goalkeeper Alex Stout to preserve the lead and post the shutout.

“We really executed our game plan well today,” said MVNU assistant coach Steve Lesmes. “Our back line and was outstanding once again and it all starts with Alex in goal. He does a great job of communicating, and I tell him every match to make all the routine plays and one or two great ones and we will be okay. He did exactly that today.”

Stout (right), who stopped a breakaway with a great one-on-one, point-blank save in the first half, finished with seven saves in notching his fifth shutout of the season and the 31st of his illustrious career. Tyler Gleason posted one save for Ohio Dominican before leaving early in the second half with a hand injury that occurred while diving for a ball. Michael Prout finished the match in goal and registered one save as well.

“We did a nice job of running our offense through our midfielders once again,” said Lesmes. “Our defenders even got into the attack which helps a lot. Our forwards also had a good match with several opportunities. Chris (Allen) had a really nice goal and hit the crossbar with another shot. Great shots are a result of working hard in practice and in games and also on your own. This was a really nice win for us over a very good team.”

The victory was the fifth straight for MVNU with all of them being shutouts. The Cougars have also now won 10 straight home matches dating back to last year with six straight home shutouts. Those streaks will all be on the line on Tuesday when Ashland University, an NCAA Division II school, comes to Cougar Field for a non-conference match that will kick off at 4:00 p.m.