The Misericordia men's soccer team rode three first half goals and a solid defensive effort to their first Freedom Conference victory of the season, 3-0 over Wilkes.

The Cougars (5-4-3, 1-1-1) had been held scoreless in their first two league matches but quickly made sure to avoid a third shutout, with Nick Ferguson, Tim Bullis and Joey Scanlon all converting in the first half.

The Cougars had the majority of the chances in the opening period, including all four shots on goal.

In the 9th minute, some nice passing from Scanlon and Bryan Kulbacki found Ferguson open on the left side. The freshman winger cut by his defender and powered a shot past Wilkes goalkeeper Kaleb Smith to open the scoring.

Six minutes later, Andy Bush collected the ball at the six yard line but couldn't pull the trigger with a crowd of defenders in front of him.

Sean Vona fed Ed Zulkoski in behind the defense for Wilkes midway through the half, but his dangerous shot from the right side was blocked.

With less than 10 minutes left in the first half, Bullis doubled the lead. Greg Korhonen's free kick from midfield found the junior striker, whose looping header to the far post made the score 2-0 in favor of Misericordia.

Scanlon nearly connected on a diving header three minutes leader on a cross from Cody Harman but just couldn't reach the ball.

However, the junior scored four minutes later, cleaning up a goalmouth scramble after an MU corner kick, allowing the Cougars to leave the field at halftime with a commanding 3-0 lead.

In the second half, Wilkes began to create some chances, but the MU defense kept the Colonels at bay.

Six minutes in the second period, Vona fired a shot just wide from the top of the box. Then Greg Miller shot just high after a Wilkes throw-in.

Wilkes' best chance came with under eight minutes remaining, when Miller blasted a shot that hit the crossbar and bounced straight down, just avoiding the inside of the goal. Arthur Jankowski nearly headed in the rebound but MU's Andrew Loyd was there to make his only save of the day.

The Cougars out-shot the Colonels 13-11, with Wilkes only managing Jankowski's one shot on goal. Next up, MU hosts Delaware Valley on Saturday in another big conference match-up.


Nick Ferguson Opens the Scoring (9th Minute):

Tim Bullis Heads in a Free Kick (36th Minute):

Joey Scanlon Makes it 3-0 (43rd Minute):