NORTON, Mass. – Three different players scored for the No. 18 Wheaton College (Mass.) men's soccer team in a 3-0 win over visiting Brandeis 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 5-0-3 and are unbeaten in 32 of their least 34 contests. The Judges slip to 2-4-2 on the season.
Wheaton owned an 18-10 shot advantage and dominated the second half with a 12-5 margin. Brandeis was awarded four of the six corner kicks in the game.
Junior midfielder Charlie Cushing (Eastham, Mass.) joined seniors Owen Kane (Pembroke, Mass.) and Avery Dinham (Coral Spring, Fla.) with a goal each. Sophomore Vinny McGann (Chelmsford, Mass.) led all playmakers with a pair of assists, while Dinham finished with three points with an assist as well. Senior goalie Nicholas Phinney (Gorham, Maine) made five saves to earn his fifth career shutout for the Lyons.
Wheaton got on the board early with a tally in the sixth minute of the game to take a 1-0 edge. Dinham carried the ball into the box from the left side, before slipping a cross to Cushing in front of the net. The junior settled the ball and directed a shot into the right side for his fourth marker of the year, just 5:03 into the match.
Both teams were held scoreless for the remainder of the half to keep it a one-goal game.
The Judges looked like they had pulled even in the 53rd minute when senior midfielder Ben Vogelman (Cape Town, South Africa) finished a rush to the net with a shot into the back of the net, but the officials called it back with an offsides call.
Kane scored his second goal of the year off a free kick to give the Lyons a 2-0 lead in the 59th minute of action. McGann lifted the cross from the top left corner of the box for a Kane header that eluded the Brandeis keeper for a two-goal advantage.
McGann's playmaking was on display again late in the half when he sent a long cross from the right side to lead Dinham into the box, before he unleashed a shot into the upper left corner for his first marker of the year. The Wheaton score with 1:49 left in the match left no doubt of the game's result.
Senior forward Keller Chamovitz (Sewickly, Pa.) paced the Brandeis offense with a pair of shots on frame, while first year keeper Gianni Nrecaj (Kinnelon, N.J.) stopped seven shots for the visitors.
The Lyons return to the pitch on Saturday, September 26 when they head to Worcester, Mass. to take on New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference foe Clark University at 1:00 p.m., while the Judges host Suffolk University on September 29 at 7:30 p.m.
