AMHERST, N.Y. - Two goals less than a minute apart late in the first half turned the tide in favor of visiting Roberts Wesleyan College as they defeated Daemen College 4-1 in East Coast Conference men's soccer action this afternoon at Park School Field.

With the loss, Daemen falls to 1-10-0 on the season, including an 0-5-0 mark in ECC play.  The Redhawks improved to 3-7-1 overall and 2-3-0 in the league.  The result evens up RWC's record over the last five meetings in the series (2-2-1).

Senior midfielder Malcolm Shaw (Pickering, Ont.) scored twice and added two assists to lead the Redhawks.  He's now tied for third among all ECC players with eight goals on the season, while also ranking fourth in points (18).

RWC did not record its first shot attempt until the 32nd minute. Shortly thereafter, Shaw put the guests on the board at the 38:54 mark, scoring on a header off a corner kick pass from junior Logan Wood (Hornell, N.Y.).

Just 52 seconds later, Shaw sent a high, arching crossing feed from the left wing all the way across the box where it found the foot of junior John Stewart (Irondequoit, N.Y.).  Stewart struck the ball with precision, beating Daemen goalkeeper Justin Figler (Grand Island, N.Y./Grand Island) with a shot that found its way inside the far post.

RWC's Terrell Spencer (Pickering, Ont.) would make a three-goal lead when he notched the first tally of his career in the 55th minute.  Shaw picked up an assist on the play as Figler got a piece of Spencer's shot, but not enough to stop it from crossing the goaline.

Daemen would get back into it when freshman back Connor Essenburg (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) recorded the first goal of his collegiate career.  Freshman midfielder Kamran Salehi (Toronto, Ont.), who made his collegiate debut today, played a corner kick short to Essenburg who took a low, driving shot from approximately 25 yards out.  The ball caromed off an RWC defender and past goalkeeper John Ciavaglia (Pittsford, N.Y.) at the 57:02 mark.

But that's as close as the Wildcats would get.  Freshman Ali Shawish (Lackawanna, N.Y./Lackawanna) had a great opportunity to cut it to a one-goal deficit in the 73rd minute.  Daemen was awarded a free kick just outside the box following an RWC foul, but Ciavaglia stoned a hard, driving shot from Shawish that made its way through the Redhawk wall.

Shaw would add his second tally of the game in the 90th minute.  With Daemen committing players forward in desperation late in the game, Shaw found himself all alone on a clean breakaway from midfield, and he made good on the opportunity to provide the final margin.

Daemen held the edge in total shot attempts 17-9, but RWC was far more efficient, placing five shots on frame compared to just four for the Wildcats.

Daemen now heads to the Washington, D.C. metro area for a pair of contests this weekend, facing Washington Adventist University in non-conference action Friday (Oct. 7) before jumping back into ECC play against University of the District of Columbia on Saturday (Oct. 8).

For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen men's soccer team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenMSOC on Twitter.