The Cougars exploded for three goals in the second half and were aided by Mason Astaneh's highlight-reel penalty kick save as the Misericordia University men's soccer grabbed a playoff spot with a 4-0 victory, Saturday night at Wilkes.

Misericordia will enter the Freedom Conference playoffs as the fourth seed and will travel to top-seeded DeSales for a semifinal contest on Tuesday. The Cougar offense has now exploded for nine goals over consecutive league victories against FDU-Florham and Wilkes.

Dan Pinto staked Misericordia to an early lead in the third minute, hitting a dipping 35-yard shot from the right side that looped over Wilkes goalkeeper Kaleb Smith and into the far corner.

Andy Bush doubled the score three minutes into the second half after putting a nice spin move on his defender. The sophomore got Smith to commit and poked a shot through several defenders for a 2-0 Misericordia lead.

Wilkes won their penalty kick with exactly 40 minutes remaining and could have made it a game but Astaneh pulled out an outstanding diving save to his left to deny Ed Zukolski's mid-range shot.

The Colonels kept pressing forward but it was Pinto who struck again in the 53rd minute, sneaking through the center of the Wilkes defense and slotting home for a 3-0 Cougar advantage.

It was 4-0 in the 63rd minute, as junior Matt Scott beat the offsides trap to collect Eric Kishbaugh's cross and tap it in after dribbling the goalkeeper.

Misericordia had further chances in the first half but couldn't convert again before the break. Midway through the opening period, Kishbaugh made a nice cut to get free along the left side. After a brief scramble, Bush poked a shot on net but Smith managed to block it from close range.

Bush then got in all alone but Wilkes' Tom Joyce did a great job to hustle back and block his shot, saving a goal. MU thought it had doubled its lead in the 31st minute when Bo Garrick knocked home a rebound from Scott, but the goal was flagged for offsides.

Wilkes' best chance of the opening half came seconds before the break, as Andrew Asare won an open header off a corner kick but put it wide left. Earlier, Tyler Young tried an ambitious effort from 40 yards that was just high.

MU finished the regular season at 12-7, 4-3 heading into its trip to DeSales next week.

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