NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's soccer team had its four-game unbeaten streak snapped in a 3-1 loss to visiting Endicott College this afternoon on a rainy Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons suffer their first defeat at home and dip to 2-2-4 on the season, while the Gulls improve to 3-5-1 on the year.
Wheaton allowed more than one goal in a game for the first time this season, while Endicott matched its season-high in markers.
Wheaton owned a 17-6 shot advantage, but the Gulls made the most of their four shots on frame, scoring three times. The Lyons also held a healthy margin in corner kicks with a 9-2 disparity.
The teams traded goals in a four and a half minute span within the first eight minutes of play.
Endicott got on the board when first year midfielder Aidan Sheehan (Arlington, Mass.) sent a cross within the box to his right to lead sophomore forward Conor Rooney (Monroe, Conn.) into a scoring opportunity. The second-year player fired a shot into the far left corner for his second marker of the year in the fourth minute of play to give the Gulls a 1-0 edge.
The Lyons got the goal back with the equalizer coming in the eighth minute of action to make it 1-1. Sophomore midfielder Joey Everett (Danbury, Conn.) carried the ball with a head of steam down the right sideline, before sending a centering cross to senior Alberto Franceschi (Caracas, Venezuela), who came crashing into the goal mouth. The forward was able to redirect the cross past the Endicott goalie and into the left side of the net with 37:10 left in the opening half.
The Gulls took the lead for good midway through the first stanza on senior forward Tiago Frazao's (Trumbull, Conn.) second marker of the season. Sophomore back Sean Catino (Bridgewater, Mass.) brought the ball into the box, before sending a cross through some traffic to Frazao. The Wheaton keeper came off his line to challenge the play, but Frazao got there first with a right-footed shot into the far left corner in the 27th minute of play for a 2-1 edge.
The score held up heading into the intermission during a stretch that saw a scoring drought from both teams that lasted nearly 53 minutes, before the Gulls added an insurance goal with just over 10 minutes to play in the match.
Junior Cole Fergusson (South Salem, N.Y.) scored in the 80th minute of play to give Endicott a 3-1 margin. The forward was able to challenge the Lyons' defense, before coming away with the ball in the box and getting behind the defense. Fergusson just had the keeper to beat and fired a shot into the far right corner for his first tally of the year in his first contest of the season.
Wheaton managed to put eight shots on net during the match, including two of Franceschi's team-high five shots.
The Lyons nearly scored in the first two minutes of the match when sophomore Jackson Ragonese (Portsmouth, N.H.) served the ball into the mix off a corner kick and Franceschi and EC sophomore back Matt Misiaszek (Londonderry, N.H.) both challenged in the air in the goalmouth with the result being a shot that was denied by the crossbar.
First year goalie Ty Nolon (Norwich, Vt.) stopped one shot in his collegiate debut for the Lyons, while junior keeper Kyle Rosa (Norton, Mass.) made his first start of the season and registered seven saves to earn the victory in his hometown for the visiting Gulls.
Wheaton will be in action again on Saturday, September 30 when it hosts Bowdoin College on Keefe Field at 2:00 p.m., while Endicott hosts United States Coast Guard Academy on September 27 at 4:00 p.m.
