LEBANON, Tenn. -- Alex Marr scored three goals and second-seeded Cumberland outshot No. 7-seed University of Pikeville 28-12 on its way to an 8-0 shutout win over the Bears in the quarterfinals of the Mid-South Conference Men's Soccer Championship on Friday afternoon.
The Bears, making their first postseason appearance in two years, got three shots from Mashi Johnson, but couldn't finish anything into the back of the net as Cumberland also tallied a 16-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Cumberland (11-6-1) advances to Thursday's semifinals in Campbellsville, Ky., where it will face the winner between No. 3-seed St. Catharine (Ky.) and No. 6-seed Shawnee State (Ohio) at 8 p.m. ET.
The goals came early and often for the Bulldogs on Friday as Marr kicked things off with a third-minute strike, followed by a goal from Brian McNamara in the fifth. There was an 18-minute lull in the action before Marr struck again in the 23rd and Jeffrey Vaina made it 4-0 in the 29th.
By halftime the Bulldogs were enjoying a 5-0 lead, allowing them to go on cruise control in the second half with one more goal by Marr in the 51st minute to finish off the hat trick, followed by 66nd and 88th-minute scores from reserves Bruno Brito Cunha and Chuka Aruh.
Tait Torstenson started in goal for the Bears, making four saves and allowing seven goals through nearly 81 minutes before Diego Rivas finished out the clock with a pair of saves and the one goal allowed. For Cumberland, Ian Hamilton picked up the complete-game clean sheet with three saves.
Apart from Mashi Johnson with the team-leading three shots, UPIKE also got two shots each from Exon Manjivar, Mateus Meira and Chase Johnson. Josh Armstrong had a big game distributing the ball for the Bulldogs, finishing with three assists in the first half and one more in the second on Marr's opening strike.
The loss brings the Bears' 2014 season to a close with a 3-9-1 overall record and 1-5-1 showing in MSC play. Meira led the team in scoring with three goals and two assists for eight points and Rivas led the goalkeepers with 44 saves and 23 goals against, including one shutout in the season-opening win against Berea (Ky.).
