NORTON, Mass. — Four different players scored a goal, including three in the second half to give the third-seeded Wheaton College (Mass.) men's soccer team a 4-0 shutout victory over visiting sixth-seeded Springfield College this afternoon in the opening round of the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Tournament at Keefe Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons, who are slated second in the most recent NCAA Region II rankings and third in the United Soccer Coaches regional survey, improve to 8-4-6 on the season. The Pride drop to 5-7-5 overall.
Wheaton advances to the NEWMAC Semfinals on Thursday, November 2 when it travels to Babson Park, Mass. to take on second-seeded Babson College for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff.
The Lyons goal total is its highest in a tournament match since a 5-0 win over Daniel Webster College on November 15, 2014 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and its their highest number of markers in a NEWMAC playoff tilt since a 5-1 victory over Babson in the 2013 NEWMAC Semfinals on November 9. The blank sheet is the first shutout in a tournament match for Wheaton since a 0-0 result against Massachusetts Institute of Technology on October 30 in the 2018 NEWMAC Quarterfinals and its first NEWMAC Tournament shutout with a goal scored since a 1-0 win over MIT in the title match on November 10, 2013.
The Lyons dominated possession throughout the contest, while owning a 17-2 shot advantage, including 7-1 in shots on frame. Wheaton was awarded 11 corner kicks, while Springfield took four kicks from the corner flag.
Wheaton got on the board following a corner kick and scored in the 30th minute to take a 1-0 edge. Following the serve into the box, the Lyons were unable to put together an offensive strike, but senior midfielder Robert Lloyd (Lexington, Mass.) sent the ball back toward the corner flag on the left side, where junior forward Alasdair Ferrier (Concord, N.H.) still resided after the serve. Ferrier threaded a cross from the left sideline to the near post, but the ball eluded the Springfield keeper who had come to meet it, leaving the front of the net unattended. Sophomore back Leao Nelson (Bar Harbor, Maine) was the recipient of the cross and tapped the ball over the goal line for his first goal of the season and a one-goal lead for the home team.
The half ended with Wheaton holding a 1-0 edge.
The Lyons wasted no time in the second stanza, scoring just 3:29 into the new half to take a 2-0 margin. Senior forward Luke Strange (Portland, Ore.) took a free kick from 25 yards out, lifting the cross to the front of the goalmouth, where classmate Alberto Franceschi (Caracas, Venezuela) flicked a header into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the year.
Wheaton kept the pressure on when sophomore midfielder Joey Everett (Danbury, Conn.) netted his first collegiate goal just 2:05 later to give the Lyons a comfortable 3-0 cushion. Everett collected a loose ball in the box and beat two defenders, before unleashing a shot into the left corner in the 51st minute of action.
The Lyons added an insurance marker in the 65th minute to take a commanding 4-0 lead with 25:26 to play in the match. Ferrier received a short cross from sophomore midfielder Baden McLaughlin (Yarmouth, Maine) on a corner kick and dribbled the ball to the top left corner of the box, where he lifted a shot that sailed over the Pride keeper's fingertips and into the far right post for his first tally of the season.
The teams combined for just two shots for the final 25 minutes of play to secure the result for Wheaton.
Sophomore keeper Michael O'Gara (Ardmore, Pa.) was tested just once in 77:36 during the match when Springfield sophomore forward Parker Thornton (Malden, Mass.) fired a shot that went off O'Gara's fingers and off the right post, but was kept out of the net. First year goalie Nicholas Phinney (Gorham, Maine) closed out the match for the Lyons with 12:24 of action without a shot on goal.
Sophomore netminder Noah Pote (Washington, Conn.) recorded three saves for the Pride.
