NORTON, Mass. – The No. 4 Wheaton College (Mass.) men's soccer team played visiting Endicott College to a 1-1 tie this afternoon at Keefe Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons, who are ranked in the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll, keep their school-record unbeaten streak to start a season intact at 12 straight and are now 9-0-3, while the Gulls are now 5-4-2.
Aside from the Endicott marker, Wheaton dominated the match, out-shooting the Gulls, 20-4, and was awarded all six corner kicks.
Sophomore forward Gael Vera (Westminster, Mass.) tallied the lone marker for Wheaton in the 17th minute to give the home team a 1-0 edge. Vera worked the ball from outside of the box, carrying the ball across to the front of the goal, where he uncorked a shot that was blocked by an Endicott defender. Vera was able to corral the rebound and fired a shot that was blocked, but it had enough momentum to skip over the keeper and hit just under the cross bar and into the net for the sophomore's third goal of the season with 28:48 left in the opening half.
Senior back Carter McCoy (Monroe, Conn.) tallied the lone goal for visiting Endicott. The Gulls were held scoreless for 83-plus minutes, before McCoy broke through in the 84th minute on a set piece. Junior midfielder Aidan Sheehan (Arlington, Mass.) served a long ball from the right sideline, from 30 yards out, to the middle of the box, where McCoy was able to re-direct the ball with a header that resulted in his first score of the season.
The Lyons had a couple other chances to build on their one-goal margin. Senior midfielder Joey Everett (Danbury, Conn.) fired a line drive that sailed just over the right side of the cross bar in the 56th minute. Everett fed Vera with a thru-ball into the box for a point-blank shot in the 59th minute, but Harrison was up to the task to keep Wheaton's lead to just one. The Lyons had one last chance to double their lead when junior midfielder Thomas Coridon (Westport, Conn.) unleashed a left-footed shot that Harrison was able to get up for and punch over the crossbar with 14:48 remaining in the game.
Senior goalie Michael O'Gara (Ardmore, Pa.) recorded three saves for Wheaton. Endicott graduate student goalie Ethan Harrison (Sandy Springs, Ga.) kept the Gulls in the match with seven saves on a number of quality chances from the Lyons.
The Lyons return to action when they travel to Schenectady, N.Y. to take on Union College for a 4:00 p.m. kickoff on October 14, while Endicott returns to play on October 11 when it hosts University of New England at 3:00 p.m.
