SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Senior midfielder Joey Everett (Danbury, Conn.) netted a pair of goals to lead the No. 10 Wheaton College (Mass.) men's soccer team to a 3-0 victory over host Union College this afternoon at College Park Field in Schenectady, N.Y.
The Lyons, who are ranked in the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll, improve to 10-0-3 on the season to extend their school-record unbeaten streak to 13 to begin the season, while the Garnet Chargers fall to 4-5-4.
Wheaton dominated possession with a 14-3 shot advantage, including 8-1 in a second half that saw all three goals scored. The Lyons held a 5-4 edge in corner kicks as well.
Wheaton scored three goals in less than a six-minute span, including two from Everett and a score from sophomore forward Gael Vera (Westminster, Mass.). Senior midfielder Aidan Doyle (Kingston, Mass.) assisted on all three scores to tie the school record and become the first Lyon to tally three helpers since Liam Daniels '18 recorded three assists vs. Roger Williams University on September 24, 2014.
Following a scoreless opening half, Wheaton needed just 75 seconds before it got on the board off a corner kick for a 1-0 lead. Doyle served the ball into the box from the left corner flag, where Everett sent a header whistling off a Union defender and into the back of the net for his second marker of the season.
The Lyons doubled their lead, just 3:45 later, to take a 2-0 margin in the 50th minute. Doyle played the ball into the box on the left side of Vera, before the sophomore switched to his right for a hard shot on the ground into the far right corner of the net for his fourth tally of the season.
Doyle's playmaking prowess led to an insurance goal just 2:05 later to give Wheaton a 3-0 advantage in the 53rd minute. The senior played the ball just inside the box on the left side, before chipping a cross to the right slot for Everett, who settled it with his chest, before sending a quick shot with his foot past the home keeper for his third goal of the year.
Both of Union's shots on frame came in a three-minute span in the first 13 minutes of play. Sophomore back Nate Langlois (Sandy Spring, Md.) fired a shot toward the inside of the right post that Lyon junior keeper Nick Phinney (Gorham, Maine) absorbed easily with a dive to his left in the 10th minute of the opening half. Sophomore midfielder Eamonn Kelley (Portland, Ore.) also took aim with a low ground shot from the right side, but Phinney was unbothered for the stop in the 13th minute.
Phinney ended the match with a pair of saves to record his first collegiate shutout for Wheaton. Senior starting keeper Jacob Perry (Avon, Conn.) turned away five of eight shots in the first 64:24 of play for the Garnet Chargers, before yielding to sophomore goalie Dmitri Wild-Arons (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.) for one stop in the final 25:36 of play.
The Lyons return to play on Saturday, October 18 when they travel to Cambridge, Mass. to take on New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference foe Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 1:00 p.m., while Union hosts Ithaca College on the same day at 2:00 p.m.
