NORTON, Mass. — Junior back Leao Nelson (Bar Harbor, Maine) netted a goal to provide the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's soccer team its only successful offensive strike in a 1-1 tie with visiting University of Massachusetts Boston this afternoon on Keefe Field in Norton, Mass. on the Wheaton campus.
The Lyons are now unbeaten in four of their first five contests and are now 3-1-1, while the Beacons are now 1-1-2. The match was the first between the schools since a 2-0 Wheaton win on November 13, 1996 in Norton.
UMass Boston held an 11-10 shot margin, including 9-2 in the second half after taking advantage of Wheaton being down a player following a red card issued with over 36 minutes to play in the game. The Lyons doubled their guests' number of corner kicks for the game at 4-2.
Wheaton got on the board in the 32nd minute of play to take a 1-0 edge. Sophomore Camajé Easton-Smith (Hamilton, Bermuda) served a ball to the far right side of the box, where senior back Ryan Bell (Berwyn, Pa.) re-directed the ball with a header to the front of the box where Nelson was on the other end of a double-header to put the ball in the back of the net with less than 14 minutes to play in the half.
The Beacons looked to get the equalizer early in the second half on a free kick just outside of the box. The chance was awarded after the Lyons' keeper was given a red card after coming off his line and his hand made contact with the ground outside of the box in a challenge to a UMass Boston striker. Senior back Diego Gisholt (Tijuana, Mexico) took the kick for the Beacons, but his point-blank shot was thwarted by a five-man Wheaton wall with 36:53 left in the contest.
The Lyons played the remainder of the game with 10 players and UMass Boston was finally able to break through in the 64th minute with their first goal of the afternoon. Senior back Logan Erickson Potter (Swansea, Mass.) carried the ball down the left side on a breakaway and sent a centering cross to sophomore forward John Arruda (Espirito Santo, Brazil), who put the ball in the back of the net with a shot from the front of the goal mouth.
The Wheaton defense survived five additional shots from the Beacon offense, including three saves from sophomore keeper Nick Phinney (Gorham, Maine), who finished the contest with five saves in 36:53 of play. Junior starting goalie Michael O'Gara (Ardmore, Pa.) turned away both shots that he faced in the opening 53:07 of play.
Graduate student goalie Andy Ramirez (Waltham, Mass.) recorded five stops for the Beacons.
The Lyons return to action on Saturday, September 14 when they travel to Bristol, R.I. to play Roger Williams University at 3:00 p.m., while UMass Boston heads across the Charles River to take on Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the same day at 4:00 p.m. in Cambridge, Mass.
