WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Monmouth defeated Mount St. Mary's 4-0 in Northeast Conference (NEC) men's soccer action on Saturday in the league opener for both teams.

Will Pike (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) made four saves for the Mount (2-6-1, 0-1-0 NEC) in the final 45 minutes of play.

Damon Wilson dished out two assists for the Hawks (6-2-2, 1-0-0 NEC) while Ryan Kinne, Michael Millar, Rob Larocca and John Castro each found the twine in the winning effort.

Monmouth scored three times in the opening period and tacked on a goal in the second half to earn the 4-0 victory.

Wilson hooked up with Kinne for his first goal of the season at 23:30 before Millar found the back of the net unnassisted two minutes and 24 seconds later. Larocca then handed Monmouth a 3-0 edge at the break off a Drew Von Bargen helper with 42 seconds remaining in the half.

Wilson then helped seal the win when he found Castro at the 62:48 mark.

The Mount had six shots on the afternoon. Vinnie Berry (Helensburgh, Scotland/St. Patrick's), Alex Kem (Germantown, Md./Walkers Mill) and Scott Phinith (Gaithersburg, Md./Magruder) each had two shots apiece. Kem gave the Mountaineers their best scoring chance on the afternoon, but backup goalkeeper Bryan Meredith made the save in the 84th minute.

Mount St. Mary's returns to action on Friday at home against St. Francis (N.Y.). Game time is 4 p.m.