NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) men's soccer team played visiting United States Coast Guard Academy to a 1-1 draw this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Keefe Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons are now 8-2-5 overall and 3-1-2 in league play. The point clinches a playoff spot in the upcoming NEWMAC Championship Tournament for the Blue and White. The Bears are 7-5-3 and 2-2-2.
Wheaton celebrated its 11 seniors prior to the match, paying tribute to Nick Phinney (Gorham, Maine), Jacques Violette (Madison, Conn.), Owen Kane (Pembroke, Mass.), Ben Kane (Pembroke, Mass.), Caleb Cassetta-Waxman (Denver, Colo.), Abhi Rajaiyan (Lucas, Texas), Thomas Corridon (Westport, Conn.), Avery Dinham (Coral Springs, Fla.), Declan Rhatigan (Holderness, N.H.) and Camajé Easton-Smith (Hamilton, Bermuda).
Wheaton held an 18-13 shot advantage, but Coast Guard's tries were on target with an 8-6 margin for the Bears on net. The Lyons were awarded seven of eight corner kicks in the game.
Owen Kane netted the lone goal for Wheaton and Rhatigan paced the Lyon offense with four shots. Junior forward James Von Dyl (San Diego, Calif.) scored Coast Guard's marker and first year midfielder Ryan Gottschalk (Alpharetta, Ga.) fired three shots for the Bears.
Nolon stopped both shots he faced in the opening half for Wheaton, before yielding to Phinney, who turned away four of five shots in the second stanza. Senior goalie Samuel Linkous (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) made five saves for Coast Guard.
Owen Kane put the Lyons on the board midway through the first half for a 1-0 edge. He received the ball along the right sideline, weaved through two Coast Guard defenders, before unleashing a left-footed shot that found the inside of the far right post for his third goal of the year in the 24th minute of play.
Wheaton looked to double its lead just over three minutes later, but an offsides call prevented Kane's second marker of the match.
The Lyons dominated possession during the half, but settled for the one goal and took a 1-0 lead into the break.
The Bears took advantage of some confusion in front of the Lyons' net midway through the second half to tie the contest. Senior midfielder Cole Miller (Annapolis, Md.) directed the ball toward the right corner of the net, but it was blocked by Violette before the ball was cleared back by the Wheaton defense. Senior back Jack Lopez (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) served the ball back into the goal mouth, where Phinney came off his line. The ball went off his chest and Von Dyl was there for the rebound shot for his second marker of the season with 23:37 remaining in the contest.
Wheaton returns to the pitch when it hosts Babson College for a conference tilt on Wednesday, October 28 at 3:00 p.m., while the Bears return to play on the same day when they host NEWMAC rival Springfield College at 6:00 p.m.
