NORTON, Mass. - A balanced scoring attack led the Wheaton College men's soccer team to a 4-0 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) victory over Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) during Homecoming Saturday on Keefe Field.
Ranked seventh in New England by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), the Lyons extended their winning streak to four games while improving to 9-3-2 overall and 3-1 in league play. The Engineers slip to 4-7-1 and 0-3-1.
Senior Yuri Moreira (Marlboro, Mass./Northfield Mount Hermon School) picked up the game-winner at 8:55 from classmate Alex Redding (Newton, Mass./Northfield Mount Hermon School), while Redding scored Wheaton's second goal at 40:01. Redding has tallied five goals while totaling 11 points in the Lyons' last five games.
Junior Conor Finn (Kennebunk, Maine/Kennebunk) and sophomore Max Swanson (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) also scored for the hosts, who jumped out to a 3-0 halftime advantage. Senior goalie Chris Smart (Brookfield, Conn./Brookfield) improved to 6-2-2 on the year with one stop in nearly 75 minutes.
The Engineers, who were outshot 16-5, used a pair of goalkeepers in the setback. Senior Paul Moan (Watertown, Mass./Watertown) turned aside one first-half shot, while freshman Jeff Wong (Long Hill, N.J./Watchung Hills) went without a save in the second frame.
Receiving the feed from Redding on the right side of the box, Moreira turned to face the goal before blasting his shot into the lower left corner of the net. Redding's goal at 40:01 came from a perfectly-placed through ball down the middle of the field from sophomore David Turina (North Yarmouth, Maine/Northfield Mount Hermon School).
Just 1:06 after the Redding goal, Wheaton made the score 3-0 when Finn headed home a throw-in from senior Jake Wagner (Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury Regional). The Lyons added insurance 7:58 into the second half, as senior Josh Solomon (Acton, Mass./Acton-Boxboro Regional) led Swanson toward the right side of the box for the finish.
Wheaton travels to local foe Bridgewater State University for a Wednesday night non-conference game at 7:00 p.m.
