WATERVILLE, Maine –- The No. 7 Wheaton College (Mass.) men's soccer team played host Colby College to a 0-0 draw in the season opener at Bill Alfond Field in Waterville, Maine.
The Lyons, who are currently ranked in the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll, are now 0-0-1 on the season, while the Mules sport the same mark.
Both teams attempted 10 shots and both squads put four shots on frame. Wheaton owned a 7-4 margin the opening half, before Colby held a 6-3 margin in the second stanza.
Sophomore keeper Patrick Butler (Glastonbury, Conn.) stopped all four shots he faced to record a clean sheet in his first collegiate start for the Lyons, while junior netminder Jackson Magee (Brookline, Mass.) matched Butler for the Mules with four saves of his own.
Butler was tested first when Colby senior back Charlie Scott (Denver, Colo.) sent a shot to the top of the frame that was denied in the sixth minute of action. Wheaton's first shot on frame came in the 17th minute off the foot of first year midfielder Colin Dickinson (Danbury, Conn.) but Magee stopped the try that was ticketed for the bottom left corner of the goal. Dickinson returned fire just two minutes later, but again Magee was up to the task.
The Lyons looked to break the stalemate again with less than five minutes to go in the opening half when sophomore midfielder Brent Karpowich (Cranston, R.I.) and junior midfielder Charlie Cushing (Eastham, Mass.) each had strikes turned away in a 10-second span in the 41st minute.
Junior forward Alexander Vittal (Belmont, Mass.) ripped a shot to the bottom left corner for the Mules, but Butler was able to keep it out of the net and send the match into halftime without a blemish.
Senior defender Oliver Daboo (Washington, D.C.) directed a shot on net in the 66th minute for the home team, but Butler kept the shutout intact with another stop for Wheaton. Sophomore back Leo Robison (Washington, D.C.) unfurled the final shot on frame for the match with just 82 ticks remaining in the contest, but it was smothered again by Butler.
The Lyons return to action on Monday, September 7 when they open the home slate at 2:00 p.m. against Western Connecticut State University on Keefe Field, while Colby travels to cross-town foe Thomas College on September 8 at 7:30 p.m.
