MARION, Ind. -- It did not take No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan University men’s soccer very long to set the tone on Saturday night in a 3-0 victory over Goshen (Ind.) in the Crossroads League Tournament Championship match at Wildcat Field.

With the match less than two minutes old Indiana Wesleyan scored and the goal held up as the game-winner. Keaton Albert (JR/Park City, Ill.) connected on the goal which was the first of two for the Crossroads League Offensive Player of the Year.

“We had the ball swung out wide and Tyrone Martin (SR/Indianapolis, Ind.) took someone on,” said Albert. “He crossed it in between the two center backs and I came off the right side of the center back and dove for a diving header and it went off the post and in.”

The early goal set off a massive celebration as Wildcat Field was packed for the championship contest.

“We talked about getting the fans into the game early,” said IWU coach Joe Schulman. “They had a huge crowd coming with them but we knew we had our great fans and the Hodson Scotsmen here and we wanted to get them engaged in the game immediately. Obviously scoring 1:44 in doesn’t get too much better than that.”

Albert and the Wildcats were not done as they struck once more with exactly 20 minutes on the clock before halftime. A free kick opportunity for Indiana Wesleyan was initially cleared out by Goshen (10-9-2). The ball found its way out of the box but was met by Albert. His shot towards the goal hit the back of a Maple Leaf defender and then went to the back of the net for a 2-0 advantage.

At the half Indiana Wesleyan held a 6-2 advantage in shots and a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal.

Indiana Wesleyan (18-1-0) was more dominant in the second half as IWU took 9 of the 11 shots in the period. Only one shot was a goal and that was from Sam Kane (SR/Jackson, Mich.) in the 75th minute for a 3-0 lead.

“Winning is something that never gets old,” added Shulman. “It means so much and it builds on what has been done here in previous years. We can build on it. The more you win it breeds a winning attitude.”

Indiana Wesleyan earns its second straight Crossroads League Tournament Championship and advances to the NAIA National Championship for the second consecutive year. NAIA National Championship Opening Round pairings and locations will be revealed on Monday.