Babson advances to championship game for the seventh time since 2004

NORTON, Mass. – The first-seeded Wheaton College men's soccer team's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament title defense came up short on Saturday morning at Keefe Field as the nationally ranked Lyons fell to fourth-seeded Babson College by a 2-0 score in the semifinal round of the conference tournament.

Babson (16-5-0), who extended its winning streak to five-straight matches with today's victory, will play No. 3 WPI (13-4-0) tomorrow in Norton, Mass. at 1 p.m. for the NEWMAC championship. The Engineers defeated No. 2 Coast Guard (13-2-3) by a 1-0 score in the second semifinal round matchup.

The Beavers received a pair of late second half goals from junior back Andrew Gonzalez (Durham, Conn./Xavier) and first-year forward Christopher Doire (Mansfield, Mass./Xaverian) to earn the win, while junior goalkeeper Stephen Donato (Morganville, N.J./CBA) made four saves to record his fifth clean sheet this season.

Senior back Patrick Ellis (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) initiated the first tally of the contest as his throw-in from the right sideline was headed into the back of the net by Gonzalez, who was positioned near the penalty area inside the box, for his fourth goal of the year at the 68:00 mark.

Doire potted the all-important insurance goal for Babson in the 77th minute from just inside the 18-yard box after fending off a Wheaton defender and subsequently firing a well struck ball into the lower left corner of the net for his second marker of the season.

The Lyons held a slight, 8-7, advantage in shots in the first half but both teams finished tied in the shot column at 16-all. Wheaton also held a 6-2 margin in corner kicks, while junior goalkeeper Matt Dickey (Newton, Mass./Northfield Mount Hermon) stopped four shots in the loss (11-1-1).

Two of Wheaton's best scoring opportunities came in the first half when senior back Ben Altneu (Orleans, Mass./Nauset Regional) nearly broke open the shutout for the hosts in the 40th minute with a wide-open header near the left post that sailed over the crossbar, which kept the game level. At the 44:25 mark, classmate Travis Blair (Hastings, N.Y./Hastings) was robbed at the doorstep by Donato as his header attempt was punched over the crossbar by the junior goalkeeper, also keeping the score tied at 0-0.

Wheaton (16-3-2) will now await its fate in the upcoming NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Selection Show scheduled for Monday, November 10 at 1:30 p.m. Fans can access the selection show by clicking here: NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Selection Show. The Lyons entered today's contest ranked No. 14 in the latest D3soccer.com poll, No. 16 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) rankings and most importantly No. 2 in the NCAA New England Regional rankings.

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