MIDDLETOWN, R.I. - It was a tale of two halves as Salve Regina University men's soccer built an 8-0 advantage at intermission and then held on for an 8-4 victory over visiting Colby-Sawyer College in The Commonwealth Coast Conference contest held at Gaudet Field in 37-degree temperature and 23 mph winds.

For the first time since 1993, the Seahawks were playing soccer in Middletown and this time they were fortunate the surface was FieldTurf. Puddles from the driving rain had long since hidden the natural grass walkways leading to Gaudet Field.

"Ultimately, this match boiled down to who could take advantage of the wind while they had it," said Seahawk head coach Craig O'Rourke II. "We scored eight goals with it at our backs in the first half and they scored four goals when they had it in the second half. Now, I just hope that all of the players from both teams can get warm, get dry, and be ready for their classes this week."

Junior midfielder Ken Johnson [Colonia, N.J.] was the engine that made the Salve Regina offensive machine run. Johnson recorded a natural hat trick by scoring all three of his goals in the first half against Colby-Sawyer. His first tally came 21 seconds into the contest when Christopher Knoth [East Islip, N.Y.] fed him a pass in front.

The wind was so powerful it should have been credited with an assist on the second Seahawk score when Sean McAllister [North Arlington, N.J.] lofted a corner kick that curved into the net. McAllister assisted on a William Carroll [Babylon, N.Y.] goal at the 13-minute mark.

Salve Regina (8-5-1; 6-3-1 TCCC) scored its next three goals during a three-minute span when McAllister started the stretch with his team-leading seventh goal of the season. Johnson fed Carroll a cross on the left side and the junior captain converted for his second goal of the game. Johnson added his second goal of the game before the 25th minute with another assist from Knoth.

Trailing 6-0, starting Charger keeper Chris Feltes [Manchester, N.H.] exited for warmer conditions after losing feeling in his glove-soaked hands. Seahawk defender Bobby Ernst [Needham, Mass.] greeted his replacement, Max Williams [Ipswich, Mass.], with a breakaway score following a perfect feed from Tony Lania [Concord, Mass.].

Knowing the wind would not be in its favor in the second half, Salve Regina finished its scoring with a Johnson breakaway in the final minute of the first half.

Colby-Sawyer (2-13; 1-9 TCCC) leading scorer freshman James Longe [Richford, Vt.] cleaned up after Salve Regina goalkeeper Eric Terreri [Guilford, Conn.] stopped a Pete Duff [Greensboro, N.C.] drive for the first Charger score in the 54 th minute. Longe assisted on the next goal when Brian Lombard [Ipswich, Mass.] converted his cross from the right.

Jon Mack [Melrose, Mass.] scored his second goal of the season before the game was 65 minutes old and when Doug McLaughlin [Derry, N.H.] scored his first goal of the season on a penalty kick, the Chargers were halfway to the Seahawk first-half total with 20 minutes remaining.

Sophomore James Tollefson [Middletown, R.I.] kept applying pressure with ball-control drives in the final 20 minutes on his former high school venue. Today's win lifts Salve Regina into sole possession of fourth place in The Commonwealth Coast Conference standings.