NORTON, Mass. –- Junior midfielder Caleb Cassetta-Waxman (Denver, Colo.) scored in the 74th minute to give the No. 21 Wheaton College (Mass.) men's soccer team a 2-1 victory over host Western New England University this afternoon at Suprenant Field in Springfield, Mass.
The Lyons, who are ranked in the most recent United Soccer Coaches national poll, improve to 3-0-1 on the season. Wheaton is unbeaten in its first four games to start the season for the first time since they began the 2014 campaign at 9-0-1. The Golden Bears fall to 1-4-0.
Despite the Lyons owning an 8-3 shot advantage in the opening half, neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first stanza. Wheaton finished the match with a 17-11 shot margin with each team being awarded four corner kicks.
Cassetta-Waxman and senior midfielder Aidan Doyle (Kingston, Mass.) each netted goals for the Lyons with sophomores Charlie Cushing (Eastham, Mass.) and Gael Vera (Westminster, Mass.) picking up assists. Senior keeper Michael O'Gara (Ardmore, Pa.) made seven saves for Wheaton.
Junior forward Ben Riley (Ludlow, Mass.) netted the lone goal for Western New England, while junior goalie Braylon Casinghino (Brimfield, Mass.) stopped four shots for the home team.
The Lyons broke a 1-1 tie with 16:45 left to play in the match. Senior midfielder Joey Everett (Danbury, Conn.) played the ball to Cassetta-Waxman at the top of the box before he flipped the ball to Cushing on the right side inside the box. Cushing chested it back to Cassetta-Waxman, who sent a touch into the bottom right side of the net for his first goal of the season and the eventual game-winning score.
Wheaton had tied the contest less than 14 minutes prior when again Everett got things started for the Lyons. The senior played the ball to Doyle, who carried the ball into the Golden Bears' defensive zone, before playing give and go with Vera. Doyle took the return cross and fired a right-footed shot from the top-right corner of the box that was ticketed for just inside the top-right corner of the near post to knot the game at 1-1 in the 60th minute for Wheaton. The marker was his second in as many games for the Blue and White.
Western New England cracked the scoring column first, less than 10 minutes into the second half, to take a 1-0 edge. The Golden Bears won the ball at midfield and sophomore midfielder Tyler Lewis (Suffield, Conn.) evaded a Lyon defender at the 30-yard mark, before sending a cross to Riley on the left side. He fired a shot on an angle from 15 yards out that found twine in the bottom right corner of the net for his first collegiate goal in the 55th minute of play.
Western New England had one final chance to pull even in the 81st minute when first year midfielder Nigel Martin (Windsor, Conn.) uncorked a shot that was denied by O'Gara, before senior midfielder Jayden Montagna (Agawam, Mass.) collected the ball for a rebound shot that was blocked. Junior midfielder Brennan Johnson (East Hampton, Conn.) fired another shot, but again O'Gara was there for the stop to keep Wheaton's lead intact.
The Lyons return to play on Saturday, September 13 when they host Husson University at 2:00 p.m. on Keefe Field, while the Golden Bears host University of New England on the same day at 2:30 p.m.
