Of the 90 NCAA Division I soccer matches that were played this weekend, no team scored more goals than Western in their 5-1 victory at Mercer.

“Once we scored the second goal, the guys felt relaxed,” coach David Holmes said. “It could have been six or seven.”

Only St. Louis and Harvard equaled the Topper’s five-goal plateau.

The scoring was led by sophomore forward Brad Magnuson, who scored twice.

Senior midfielder/forward Jake Schuler, freshman midfielder Blake Wilson, and sophomore midfielder/defender Will Thompson all added a goal a piece.

The five goals were the most scored by Western in a match this season and was a higher total than their previous two matches combined.

“It definitely helps,” Magnuson said of the scoring. “Because we haven’t been scoring that many goals this year. But we’ve known all year that we’ve been able to do that. It’s finally good to get the results that we’ve been deserving all year.”

The win kept the Toppers’ playoff hopes alive.

“It was definitely a momentum game, especially for scoring,” freshman forward/midfielder Ben Backstrom said. “We got the first goal and that’s always key on the road.”

The victory, coupled with Missouri State’s loss to Evansville this weekend puts Western a win away from their first berth in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament since 2003. Missouri State must also lose or tie Drake.

The players found out through the internet in the hotel later on that evening, Holmes said.

“It was another piece of good news to add to the win,” Magnuson said. “I think we’ve known that we deserve to be in the conference tournament.”

The Toppers match pivotal match at Bradley is slated for 7 p.m. match this Saturday.

Davies named to ESPN Academic all-District team

Senior defender Chris Davies was named first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV for the second straight season on Thursday.

The chemistry major and mathematics minor was also a member of the Missouri Valley Conference first-team Scholar-Athlete Team and was honored as Western’s outstanding chemistry student last year.

This season, Davies earned his first start on senior night against Berea. The Frankfort native has tallied two goals on the year.

Reach Ryan Carey at sports@chherald.com.