Men's Soccer | 9/12/2012 7:15:00 PM

Box Score VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- The Methodist men's soccer team improved to 5-1 on the season with a 3-1 win over Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday evening.
 
For just the second time all season, the Monarchs allowed the opposition to get on the scoreboard first as Virginia Wesleyan (1-3-1) took a 1-0 lead when Travis Walke took a pass from Philip Smith and beat MU senior goalkeeper Pat Hamel low and to his left at the 5:56 mark.
 
The Monarchs, who have now scored at least three goals in all five of their wins, wasted little time knotting the score at 1-1 as junior Eric McGinnis tallied an unassisted marker at the 12:22 mark.
 
Despite 16 combined shots from the two sides in the opening 45 minutes, the score remained tied at 1-1 heading into the break.
 
McGinnis netted his second unassisted goal of the match, his third multi-goal game of the season, at the 58:00 mark to put Methodist up 2-1. The Monarchs needed just 12 seconds to add to their lead as 21 seconds later McGinnis found freshman Mike Ilodigwe for a goal and a 3-1 MU advantage.
 
The Marlins actually outshot Methodist, 16-13, including 9-4 in the second half, but MU senior goalkeeper Pat Hamel kept the Marlins at bay with six saves in 90:00 of play. Jake Burtch played al 90:00 for VWC and allowed the three goals while coming up with five saves.
 
The Monarchs return to the pitch on Saturday when they host Averett at 12:00 pm.