NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's soccer team concluded its season with a 0-0 draw against visiting Massachusetts Institute of Technology in New England Men's & Women's Athletic Conference action this afternoon at Keefe Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons finish their season with a 6-5-7 overall mark to set a new school record for ties in a season, while ending the slate with a 1-2-5 count in NEWMAC play. The Engineers are now 8-8-2 and 3-3-2 and secure the number four seed in next week's NEWMAC Championship Tournament and will host fifth-seeded Springfield College on November 5.
Wheaton honored its seniors prior to the match in a ceremony to thank them for their four-year contribution. The Lyons recognized Chris Housel (Essex Fells, N.J.), Ethan Alfano (East Greenwich, R.I.), Connor Cushing (Eastham, Mass.), Alasdair Ferrier (Concord, N.H.), Lucas Goettel (Cumberland, Maine) and Max Strong (Littleton, Mass.).
The Lyons dominated possession with a 21-7 shot advantage, including 12-3 in the second half. Despite the wide shot disparity, both teams directed five shots on frame. Wheaton held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Junior keeper Michael O'Gara (Ardmore, Pa.) made five saves in the final 83:04 of play to follow Housel, who was untested in the opening 6:56 of play for the Lyons. Sophomore goalie Paolo Mangiafico (Farmington, Conn.) turned away all five shots he faced to record his second shutout of the season.
Ferrier registered a game-high seven shots for Wheaton in the final appearance of his career, while junior midfielder Joey Everett (Danbury, Conn.) attempted five shots.
First year midfielder Shikhar Motupally (Avon, Conn.) led MIT with three shots.
The best scoring chance for either team came in the final minute of the match. Ferrier served a corner kick from the left side into the box, where DiDario redirected the kick to the front of the net with a header for the Lyons. First year forward Gael Vera (Westminster, Mass.) was there to put his own head on a bouncing ball in front of the goalmouth that looked like it would find an open net, but senior midfielder Arun Kirk (Chapel Hill, N.C.) was in the right place at the right time for the Engineers to kick the ball out of net and keep the game scoreless. Sophomore midfielder Camajé Easton-Smith (Hamilton, Bermuda) managed to collect the rebound for the home team and fired his own shot, but it sailed over the crossbar and the MIT defense came away unscathed.
The first tense moment of the match came in the 15th minute when Motupally sent a ball into the box for the Engineers that O'Gara got his hands on, but got past him only to safely bypass the left post.
Wheaton's first real scoring chance came in the 29th minute. Everett picked up a loose ball and carried it into the box, but before he could get off a clean shot, Mangiafico came off his line to meet Everett's strike with the ball and snuffed out the attempt.
Less than two minutes later, graduate student Adam Snowdon (Lorton, Va.) unleashed a point-blank shot in the middle of the box for MIT, but O'Gara was there to block the attempt for the Lyons.
