Goncalves nets game-winner, Daniels set up all three goals in the victory

BRISTOL, R.I. – Senior midfielder Matheus Goncalves (Framingham, Mass./Worcester Academy) kept the Lyons unbeaten streak alive with his first career game-winning goal in the 84th minute of the contest to propel the Wheaton College men's soccer team to a 3-2 win over Roger Williams University in non-conference action at Bayside Field on Wednesday night.

Wheaton, ranked No. 14 overall in the latest D3soccer.com national poll and No. 18 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) national rankings, improved to 8-0-1 on the season with tonight's win. The Lyons current nine-game unbeaten streak is also tied for eighth all-time in program history. Roger Williams falls to 4-4-1 on the year.

Tied 2-2 with less than ten minutes left in regulation, Goncalves corralled a deep pass near the back right corner of the box from first-year Liam Daniels (New York, N.Y./Northfield Mount Hermon) and promptly blasted a shot into the left side of the net to push Wheaton ahead on the scoreboard, 3-2, moments before the conclusion of the second half.

Wheaton's defense held true for the remainder of the matchup not allowing a shot over the final 6:47 of play to secure the victory. Before Goncalves' game-winner in the 84th minute, Hawks' senior goalkeeper Tom Mangels (Garden City, N.Y./Kent School) stopped five shots in the second stanza including back-to-back point-blank saves against Luke Finkelstein (Peabody, Mass./Peabody) and Travis Blair (Hastings, N.Y./Hastings) in the 56th minute to keep the game even.

The first half was equally as tense and fast-paced as both teams scored four goals in a 30:54 span. Roger Williams jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a header from first-year Charlie Mader (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough) off a connection pass via Dan Kelly (Miller Place, N.Y./St. Anthony) and Trevor Sparda (Scarborough, Maine/Scarborough) at the 9:39 mark.

Wheaton junior midfielder Noah Kossoff (New York, N.Y./Birch Wathen Lenox School) pulled the visitors level in the 28th minute with his third goal of the season with a shot to the left corner of the net via assists by Finkelstein and Daniels. Finkelstein played the Lyons' corner kick backwards to Daniels who followed with a cross into the box for Kossoff and the eventual equalizer.

Roger Williams regained the lead just 33-seconds later as Tyler Peckham's (Coventry, R.I./LaSalle Academy) shot deflected off a Wheaton defender and into the back of the net for his second marker of the year.

In the 41st minute, Daniels orchestrated another game-tying tally for the Lyons as he found classmate Amara Sesay (Bronx, N.Y./Martin Luther King) with a cross inside the box. Sesay gathered Daniels' pass and drove a shot past Mangels into the middle of the netting for his first-career goal.

Wheaton outshot Roger Williams, 27-10, and also held an 8-1 margin in corners. Lyons' first-year goalkeeper David Sorkenn (River Edge, N.J./River Dell Regional) made four saves to push his record to 4-0-1. Mangels stopped eight shots in the loss (4-4-1).

Wheaton (8-0-1, 0-0 NEWMAC) hosts WPI this Saturday on Keefe Field for a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) matchup scheduled for 1 p.m. Roger Williams (4-4-1) travels to Endicott on Saturday for a 4 p.m. contest.

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