NORTON, Mass. – Senior forward Alberto E. Franceschi (Carupano, Venezuela) and junior forward Luke Strange (Portland, Ore.) each scored and assisted on a goal to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's soccer team to a 4-0 victory over visiting Bridgewater State University this evening at Keefe Field on the campus of Wheaton in Norton, Mass. 

The Lyons improve to 2-1 on the season, while the Bears fall to 0-2.

Wheaton dominated possession, outshooting Bridgewater State 21-4 and holding the Bears to just two shots in each half. The Lyons also held a commanding 17-2 advantage on corner kicks.

The teams were scoreless through the first 42-plus minutes of play until Wheaton first year midfielder Ethan Thompson (Norwell, Mass.) netted his first collegiate goal in the 43rd minute of play. The rookie raced into the box, corralled the ball, made two dribbles to his left, before beating the BSU keeper with a hard strike across his body and into the right corner with 2:54 left on the first half clock to give the home team a 1-0 edge.

The Lyons added to their lead, early the second half, when Strange lifted a cross in front of the net on a corner kick and Franceschi was able to execute a sweeping kick as he fell to the ground to give him his first marker of the season in the 51st minute of play. 

Wheaton wasted no time to pad its advantage with its third goal coming just over five minutes later for a 3-0 margin. Sophomore defender Ethan Alfano (East Greenwich, R.I.) carried the ball down the left side and into the visitors zone, before zipping a cross to Franceschi at the right post, where he found Strange in front of the net for his second marker of the year at 56:22.

Sophomore forward Alasdair Ferrier (Concord, N.H.) capped the scoring for the Lyons when he stepped in front of a pass from a Bridgewater State defender playing back to his keeper, and slipped behind the netminder for a shot into the right corner for his team-leading third goal of the season. The score came with 18:32 remaining in the match to give Wheaton a four-goal cushion.

The Bears best scoring opportunity came when sophomore forward Ethan Lafontant (Chelmsford, Mass.) blasted a shot ticketed for the inside right corner of the Lyons' net in the 40th minute, but the post denied the try to keep Wheaton's shutout bid intact.

First year keeper Michael O'Gara (Ardmore, Pa.) stopped two shots in his collegiate debut for Wheaton, which spanned 74:45, before senior Kris Strempel (Longmeadow, Mass.) patrolled the net untested for the final 15:15 of play. Senior goalie William Russell (Sandwich, Mass.) turned back six of 10 shots he faced in 71:28 of action, before yielding to junior keeper Lukas Ekmanis (Baxter, Tenn.), who was also untested in the final 18:32 of play.

The Lyons return to action on Wednesday, September 7 when they host Gordon College on Keefe Field at 5:00 p.m., while the Bears head to Providence, R.I. on the same night to take on Rhode Island College for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff.