2005 NEWMAC MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT - Wheaton advances to championship game with 2-1 win against WPI

November 5, 2005

NORTON, MA- Top-seeded Wheaton College extended its unbeaten streak to seven games with a goal in each half against number-five seed Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Saturday afternoon, as the Lyons defeated the Engineers, 2-1 during the afternoon's first New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament men's soccer semifinal round game at Keefe Field.

Wheaton advances to the tournament championship game for the fifth time in the NEWMAC's eight-year existence, as the 12-4-2 Lyons will take on the winner of number-three seed Clark University and seventh seed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m. With today's loss, WPI completes its season with a 7-7-2 record.

Freshman Dan Lane (Dedham, MA/Worcester) gave the hosts an early lift offensively with his team-best 13th goal of the season in the fifth minute of play, stretching his goals steak to four games while scoring in seven of Wheaton's last nine contests. Sophomore Reed Hollett (Bedford, Nova Scotia/Halifax Grammar School) switched fields with a pass from the right flank over to classmate Trevor Cote (Portsmouth, RI/Providence Country Day School), who sent the ball to Lane just outside the box. With his back to the goal, Lane turned to his left and launched his shot into the upper right corner of the net.

The game remained a one-goal contest until the 80th minute, when junior Ariel Tatum (Cayman Islands, BWI/Holderness School) used a quick restart from the middle of the field and sent a through ball to freshman Mathurin Coulibaly (Ivory Coast, Africa/Saint George's School). Coulibaly snuck behind the WPI defense and placed the ball in the lower right corner of the net for a 2-0 Wheaton lead.

Senior Matthew Young (Manchester, CT/Manchester) helped the Engineers cut their deficit in half with 2:54 to play. Young rifled a free kick from just outside the top left side of the box towards the right netting. Wheaton junior goalkeeper Matt Pachniuk (Newtown, CT/Newtown) made what appeared to be the diving save, but the ball came off his hands and trickled into the back of the net.

The Lyon defense held strong for the remainder of time and was able to run out the clock following a WPI foul with 10 seconds to go. Pachniuk, who was forced to leave the game with an injury following the Engineer goal, posted three saves while junior keeper Brian Catalano (Whitinsville, MA/Northbridge) finished with two stops in the loss. Wheaton, which was called for 11 offsides on the day, held a slim 11-10 edge in shots, while the Engineers had a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks.

2005 NEWMAC MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
Wheaton 2, WPI 1

SCORING 1st 2nd Final
WPI (7-7-2) 0 1 1
Wheaton (12-4-2) 1 1 2

1st Half: WC- Dan Lane (Trevor Cote, Reed Hollett) 4:45

2nd Half: WC- Mathurin Coulibaly (Ariel Tatum) 79:34; WPI- Matthew Young (unassisted) 87:06

Goalie Saves: WC- Matt Pachniuk (87:06) 3, David Croft (2:54) 0; WPI- Brian Catalano 2

Shots on Goal: WC- 11; WPI- 10

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