MORRIS, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Morris men's soccer team fell by a score of 5-0 on Wednesday afternoon to Bethany Lutheran College. The Vikings maintain their stranglehold on first place in the UMAC with the win, improving to 6-4-0 (6-0-0 UMAC) on the season. The Cougars drop to 2-9-1 (2-3-1 UMAC).

Minnesota Morris had to place a premium on defense to try to keep a potent Viking offense in check, but the first shot of the match came from the Cougars and nearly put them ahead. Mayson Palen fired from distance and it took a leap and a save just under the crossbar from Nick Lundberg in the fourth minute to keep the match scoreless.

Bethany Lutheran eventually got on the front foot and the visitors opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Tomas and Bernardo Abreu worked the ball down the left before whizzing in a shot that ricocheted off a Cougar defender. Max Busch was in the right place at the right time, putting the ball in the back of the net from point-blank range to make it 1-0. Though BLC continued to threaten the remainder of the first half, the UMN Morris defense held firm and kept it as a one-goal game at the break.

The Vikings scored early on in the second half and that opened the floodgates as they put four past Lucas Harmon in a span of 15 minutes. Jamie Smith netted in the 52nd minute on a ball popped over the top of the Minnesota Morris defense. In the 56th minute, Mick Van De Kolk headed in a cross from the left wing. Goals from Benjamin Phillips in the 65th minute and Busch's second of the day in the 67th minute closed it out.

Late in the match, Minnesota Morris was able to string some possession together and bother the Bethany Lutheran defense. Ethan Pherson had a shot blocked from inside the 18-yard box and Carter Watkinson forced a save from Lundberg to preserve the shutout.

Minnesota Morris is back in action on Saturday, hosting Martin Luther College at 2 p.m. at Cougar Field.