WESTFIELD, Mass. - Emerson College scored three second half goals, including two by Thomas Pelino (San Jose, Calif.) as the Lions got past Westfield State, 3-0 in a non-conference men's soccer match on Tuesday evening at Alumni Field.
Westfield is now 4-3-1 overall, while Emerson improves to 6-3-2.
The game was tied 0-0 at the half with both teams generating good chances, but the Lions roared to life after the intermission.
Emerson netted their first in the 65th minute as some good build up from the midfield resulted in Evan Lee (Miami, Fla.) slotting a ball through the right side of Owls' back line for Pelino, who fired a high shot for the goal.
Less than five minutes later, Lee found Pelino with another through ball for the goal and a 2-0 lead.
The final goal came in the 79th minute. With wholesale substitutions for the Owls, the Lions took advantage of the unsettled situation off of a throw in, with Theodore Bushara (New York, N.Y.) dropping a pass for Jorah Delbanco (Berkeley, Calif.), who attacked from the left side and fired a shot to the far post for the final margin.
Emerson finished with a 19-13 edge in total shots and a 10-5 mark in shots on goal. The Lions mustered eight corner kicks to the Owls two.
The first half was relatively evenly played. Westfield got three strong plays in the back from Matthew Elmasian (Springfield, Mass./Minnechaug), including running an attacker off the ball with Owls keeper Luke Theroux (Chicopee, Mass./Comp) out of the net, with Elmasian clearing the ball before a shot could be had.
First half shots on goal were 4-4, with Theroux coming up with a big save, tipping a hard shot from Pelino over the cross bar in the third minute of play.
Westfield forward Coleby Andrade (Falmouth, Mass.) created several chances in the offensive end, with Emerson keeper Wylie Jelinek (Brooklyn, N.Y.) coming off his line on several occasions to challenge or make saves.
In the second half the relentless attack of the finally wore down the Owls. Whistled for six offsides calls in the first half, the Lions created another strong chance in the first minute of the second half, with Lee breaking in unmarked on the right side and blistering a shot that Theroux saved.
Theroux finished with seven saves for Westfield, while Jelinek stopped five for Emerson.
Westfield gets right back to non-conference action on Thursday with a 3:30 p.m. match at UMass Dartmouth, a match that was rescheduled after being postponed due to inclement weather in September.