BOSTON, Mass. — Sophomore back Paco Polo (Madrid, Spain) scored with 7:29 to play to give the No. 19 Wheaton College (Mass.) men's soccer team a 2-2 tie at host Emerson College this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Rotch Field in Boston, Mass.
The Lyons, who are ranked in the most recent United Soccer Coaches national poll, are now 5-1-4 overall and 1-1-1 in league play, while the Lions are 6-3-2 and 0-1-1.
Despite the score, the teams combined for 34 shots on the day, including 18 from Wheaton. The Lyons held an 8-6 margin in shots on goal and were awarded four of five corner kicks for the game.
Wheaton scored the game-tying goal in the 83rd minute off a set piece on a corner kick. Sophomore midfielder Vinny McGann's (Chelmsford, Mass.) serve from the left corner flag squirted through the scrum and along the goal line, before senior forward Declan Rhatigan (Holderness, N.H.) got a foot on it, sending it to Polo. The sophomore finished with his first collegiate goal to pull the Lyons even at 2-2.
It was the second time in the match that Wheaton had to erase a one-goal deficit.
Emerson opened the scoring in the 31st minute with the first marker of the match. Sophomore forward Nick Mirogiannis (Reading, Mass.) sent a cross to senior forward Thomas Pelino (San Jose, Calif.) just inside the box on the right side, before he unleashed a shot that found the far upper left corner for his fifth goal of the season. The score came with 14:21 showing on the first half clock.
The Lions led for the remainder of the half and into the first 13-plus minutes of the second half, before the Lyons knotted the contest at 1-1 in the 59th minute. Junior back Austin Hoadley (South Kent, Conn.) sent the ball down the length of the field on the right side, where Rhatigan continued its momentum with a flick from midfield. The ball found senior forward Avery Dinham (Coral Springs, Fla.), who carried it into the box, drawing the Lion keeper off his line, before Dinham sent a shot past him and into the left side of the net for his second marker of the season.
Dinham looked to give Wheaton the lead less than a minute later, sending a cross across the goal line from the left side to Rhatigan, who was camped in the right slot, but his shot was denied by the diving Emerson keeper.
The Lions reclaimed the lead just over 14 minutes later on a free kick to take a 2-1 edge in the 73rd minute. Junior midfielder Vigo Cassidy (Culver City, Calif.) lifted a ball from 30 yards out on a free kick to the front of the net, where a Wheaton defender inadvertently headed the ball over the goal line, while trying to clear it away.
Senior goalie Nicholas Phinney (Gorham, Maine) made four saves for the Blue and White, while sophomore keeper Asa Roberts (Guilford, Conn.) turned away six shots for the home team.
The Lyons return to the pitch on Tuesday, October 6 when they travel to nearby Bridgewater, Mass. to take on Bridgewater State University at 5:00 p.m., while Emerson heads to Framingham, Mass. to play Framingham State University on the same day at 7:00 p.m.
