LEXINGTON, Ky. — Transylvania University men's soccer advanced to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Championship Tuesday evening, defeating Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 3-0 in the HCAC semifinals at Pat Deacon Stadium.
The Pioneers scored three first-half goals, highlighted by a goal and two assists from
McKay Wheatley, to secure their place in Saturday's conference championship match against Earlham College.
With the victory, Transylvania improved to 12-2-3 overall, while Rose-Hulman moved to 9-7-4. Transylvania wasted little time establishing its offensive presence, breaking through in the seventh minute when
Gus Dickman found the back of the net off an assist from Wheatley at 6:41 to give the Pioneers an early 1-0 advantage. The Pioneers doubled their lead in the 29th minute when Wheatley scored at 28:48, extending Transylvania's advantage to 2-0.
Just under 10 minutes later, Wheatley contributed his second assist of the evening, finding
Josh Carr for a goal at 38:42 to give the Pioneers a commanding 3-0 lead entering halftime.
Transylvania continued to control the offensive opportunities throughout the second half, generating seven additional shots while limiting Rose-Hulman to just two attempts.
Cole Varela and
Kellen Crouch each forced second-half saves from Rose-Hulman goalkeeper Justin Burns as the Pioneers maintained their three-goal advantage through the final whistle. Wheatley led Transylvania with three points on one goal and two assists, while Dickman and Carr each contributed a goal. Goalkeeper
Ethan Drew played all 90 minutes, recording one save to secure the shutout.
As a team, Transylvania held a 15-3 advantage in total shots, including a 6-1 edge in shots on goal. The Pioneers also earned four corner kicks compared to three for Rose-Hulman.
The victory sends Transylvania to the HCAC Tournament Championship, where the Pioneers will host Earlham College on Saturday at Pat Deacon Stadium.
Stay tuned to TransySports.com for updates and additional information regarding Saturday's championship match.
Transylvania University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the HCAC. To keep up to date with all of Transylvania Athletics, check out our website at transysports.com and follow @TransySports on Instagram.
