WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Junior forward Alex Bethencourt of the Williams College men's soccer team finished with one goal and two assists, as six Ephs tallied at least one point during a 5-0 non-conference victory over University of Hartford Tuesday afternoon on Cole Field.

"It was an amazing start to the game with two great individual efforts," said sixth-year head coach Steffen Siebert. "The team never looked back from there and finished the game with a great performance from everyone."

The Ephs (6-1-1, 4-1-1 NESCAC) scored two goals in the opening three minutes, six seconds of action to take control over the Hawks (3-3-2, 1-1-1 Conference of New England). Junior midfielder Luca Ruta recorded one goal and one assist, while goalkeepers Kai Darrell and Henry Fireman combined for the shutout. Each goalie made three saves in the win, as Darrell improved to 6-1-1 on the season.

Two minutes into the game, Ruta placed a through ball from the middle of the Ephs' attacking zone onto the edge of the 18-yard box. Bethencourt tipped the pass to sophomore JJ Ruehlemann, and then the forward did the rest, burying a shot during a 1-on-1 situation with the goalkeeper.

During the fourth minute, Bethencourt curved a shot directly off a corner kick from the right attacking side into the top left corner of the goal, pushing the Ephs' lead to 2-0. Junior defender Chase Caires played a ball through the air from just inside the midfield line into the 18-yard box. Bethencourt was able to redirect the pass to sophomore defender Jake Farmer, who buried his first collegiate goal on the right side.

First-year midfielder Nick Appleton, who scored the game-winning goal in the 90th minute during a 1-0 triumph against Amherst Saturday, crossed a ball from the right side of the box in the 42nd minute, and then junior forward Lorcan Mitchell one-timed the pass into the bottom left corner for a 4-0 advantage. During the 57th minute, Ruta ended the scoring, as he buried a penalty kick into the right side of the net.

The Ephs led in shots, 26-14, including holding a 17-4 advantage during the first half. Williams led the corner-kick statistic, 7-1 and held a 12-6 advantage in shots on goal. Bethencourt led all student-athletes with six total shots and three on target.

The Ephs compete against NESCAC-rival 14th-ranked Connecticut College on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. from Cole Field.