NORTON, Mass. — The fifth-seeded Worcester Polytechnic Institute men's soccer team scored the only goal of the day with 4:02 left in the opening half to stun top-seeded and No. 8 Wheaton College, 1-0, in a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament semifinal contest this afternoon at Keefe Field on the Wheaton campus in in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons, who are ranked in the most recent United Soccer Coaches national poll, suffer their first defeat of the season to snap a 21-game unbeaten streak, dating back to October 26, 2024. Wheaton, which had not been shut out the entire season, dips to 14-1-4. The Lyons will await an at-large bid to the upcoming NCAA Division III National Tournament to be announced on Monday, November 10.
The Engineers, who dropped a 4-0 decision to the Lyons just 15 days ago on the same field and subsequently needed a goal in the final 20 minutes of the regular season to defeat Salve Regina this past Saturday just to qualify for the postseason. WPI, which then needed overtime on Tuesday to dispatch third-seeded Emerson on the road in the quarterfinals, advances to its fifth NEWMAC championship game on Saturday.
The Crimson and Gray, now 8-6-5 overall, will face second-seeded Babson College, a 3-1 winner earlier on Thursday at home over United States Coast Guard Academy. It will mark the fourth time the two teams will square off in the finals with WPI capturing the title at home in PKs in 2023 and Babson winning the title late in the second overtime in 2019 and in 2014.
Junior midfielder Eli Marden (Shelburne, Vt.) headed in a free kick late late in the first half and sophomore goalkeeper Savio Ketnouvong (Paxton, Mass.) registered eight saves to lead the Engineers.
Senior midfielder Tora Ito (Hopkinton, Mass.) set up the lone goal of the day on a free kick just outside of the box on the left side. His serve was headed into the top left corner of the net by Marden with just 4:02 left in the opening half to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Ketnouvong did the rest for WPI, answering the call again and again.
Wheaton senior midfielder Aidan Doyle (Kingston, Mass.) fired a hard shot headed for inside the right post, but Ketnouvong made a diving stop to his left in the 28th minute. Doyle tested the Engineer keeper again just over seven minutes into the second half, but this time his strike was headed for the left corner of the frame. The result was the same with Ketnouvong stretching for another save with a dive to his right in the 53rd minute of play. Ketnouvong continued his heroics in the 73rd minute to keep his shutout intact. Doyle served a ball into the box for junior back Owen Kane (Pembroke, Mass.), who directed a ball off the side of his head for the right corner, but the WPI goalie was there again to make the stop.
The Lyons had one final quality chance when Doyle served another ball into the box that senior midfielder Joey Everett (Danbury, Conn.) headed toward the goal line, but senior back Edward Zazzali (Nutley, N.J.) was able to deflect the attempt away to preserve the victory for the visiting Engineers.
Doyle and sophomore forward Gael Vera (Westminster, Mass.) paced Wheaton with four shots apiece as part of an 18-5 shooting advantage for the Lyons. Wheaton outshot its guest, 11-1, in the second half, but was unable to find the back of the net. Senior keeper Michael O'Gara (Ardmore, Pa.) made a pair of saves in the match for the Lyons, who held an 8-3 margin in corner kicks.
