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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Senior Lucas Bennett scored twice in the final seven minutes of the first half to lead Nazareth to a 2-0 victory over visiting Utica in an Empire 8 Conference men's soccer game on Saturday afternoon. Classmate Nate Ripic recorded six saves to earn the shutout.

With the victory, the Golden Flyers improve to 6-8-2 overall and 1-4-2 in Empire 8 contests. Following the loss, the Pioneers drop to 2-13-1 overall and 1-5-1 in conference games.

In the opening 20 minutes of the game, Ripic made four saves to keep the score 0-0. Midway through the period, the momentum moved to Nazareth's side. With about 19 minutes left in the half, the Golden Flyers had a flurry of shots but were unable to score. Christopher Rowland hit the crossbar, which was followed by consecutive shots by Alessio DeMichele, Christian Barrientos, and Dereck France. DeMichele and Barrientos's shots were both blocked before France's shot sailed over the crossbar.

Bennett broke the scoreless tie with 6:07 to play in the opening half with a great solo play. Bennett predicted a pass from a Utica defender back to the goalkeeper and intercepted it just inside the Pioneers' box. After moving to the right of the keeper, Bennett buried a shot into the back of the net for the unassisted goal.

Roughly four minutes later, Bennett extended Nazareth's lead to two goals with a hard shot from the top of the box. The attempt went through goalie Matthew Milograno's outstretched hands for the score. Prior to his goals, Bennett had been heavily involved in the Golden Flyers' offensive attack, including a goal that was disallowed due to an offsides whistle. With his goals, Bennett closes his career at Nazareth with 14 total goals.

The Golden Flyers dominated action in the second half as they amassed 18 total shots. Milograno had 10 saves in the period to prevent Nazareth from stretching its lead further. For the game, the Golden Flyers finished with a 28-10 advantage in total shots and a 5-2 advantage in corner kick opportunities. Bennett finished with eight shots on goal and DeMichele had two shots on goal. AJ Muoio, Ben Rodney, and Rowland each had one shot on goal.