NORTON, Mass. – Senior midfielder Aidan Doyle (Kingston, Mass.) netted a pair of goals to lead the No. 13 Wheaton College (Mass.) men's soccer team to a 4-1 victory over visiting Bridgewater State University this afternoon at Keefe Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons, who are ranked in the most recent United Soccer Coaches national poll, improve to 5-0-1 on the season, while the Bears dip to 2-4-0.
Wheaton controlled possession of the match, owning a 29-9 shot advantage including 15-5 in the opening half and 15-4 in the second stanza. The shots on frame were much closer with the Lyons holding an 11-6 margin. Wheaton held a 6-5 edge with corner kicks as well. All five goals were tallied in the opening half.
Doyle records the second multi-goal effort of his career and has now tallied at least one marker in each of his last four matches. Sophomore forward Gael Vera (Westminster, Mass.) tallied three points with a goal and an assist and first year forward Vinny McGann (Chelmsford, Mass.) netted a goal as well for Wheaton. Junior keeper Nick Phinney (Gorham, Maine) stopped five shots for the Lyons.
First year forward Francis Amani (Plymouth, Mass.) netted the lone goal for Bridgewater State. Sophomore goalie Daniel Dias (Brockton, Mass.) made seven saves for the Bears.
Both of Doyle's goals came in a span of less than four minutes to give Wheaton a 2-0 lead in the 15th minute of play. Doyle converted a penalty kick into the right corner in the 11th minute after Vera was pulled down in the box by a Bridgewater defender. Doyle's second tally was the product of precision by the Lyons. Vera lifted a cross from the right side of the box to junior forward Declan Rhatigan (Holderness, N.H.) who redirected the ball with his head to Doyle on his right. Doyle fired a shot in stride that pinballed just inside the top-left corner of the cross bar and landed straight down behind the goal line for his team-leading fifth goal of the season just 3:44 after his first score.
Vera gave Wheaton a three-goal margin in the 20th minute when senior midfielder Joey Everett (Danbury, Conn.) served a long ball from just before midfield and into the box. The Bear keeper came out to meet the ball, but Vera was able to corral the ball and maneuver into the goalmouth, before sending a touch into the back of the right side of the net for his first goal of the year with 25:02 left in the first half.
Bridgewater State got on the board with 3:37 left in the first half of play to cut the deficit to 3-1. Similar to the home team's second goal of the day, the Bears made the most of their play in the air to score their first tally of the match. Senior midfielder Filippo Mucci (Vineyard Haven, Mass.) lifted a free kick from the left side into the box, where newly entered senior forward Melvin Alves (Brockton, Mass.), with his back to the box, headed the cross back to the right slot to Chang, who sent a header to the front of the goalmouth. Amani was there for the one-timer to put Bridgewater State on the board and give him his first collegiate score.
The Lyons responded right away to restore the three-goal advantage, just two minutes later. Junior back Jacques Violette (Madison, Conn.) served a long ball down the right side of the field that McGann ran onto, made a move on the Bear defender and scored with his left foot into the right side of the net for his second marker of the year with only 95 seconds remaining in the half.
Following a busy first half, neither team was able to break through in the second half.
Wheaton returns to action on Saturday, September 20 when it travels to Newport, R.I. to open the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference slate with Salve Regina University at 2:00 p.m., while Bridgewater State travels to North Adams, Mass. to play Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on September 19 for a 7:00 p.m. Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference contest.
