2005 NEWMAC MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT - Huge second half lifts Wheaton to fifth NEWMAC title

November 6, 2005

NORTON, MA- Freshman Jeff Shea (Canton, MA/Canton) posted his first career multiple-goal game in Sunday afternoon's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament championship game, leading the number-one seed Wheaton College men's soccer team past seventh seed Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 3-0 en route to its fifth conference title in the NEWMAC's eight-year history.

Today's title game marked the third time that Wheaton and MIT met for the conference crown, with the Lyons winning the two previous encounters in 2001 and 2003. Moving to 13-4-2 on the season while extending its unbeaten streak to eight games, Wheaton will return to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the third consecutive season and sixth time overall. The Engineers finish their season at 9-9.

Despite numerous scoring opportunities from the Lyons in the opening half, the teams remained deadlocked at the intermission. A header off the crossbar from freshman Justin Hart (Ashland, MA/Ashland) five minutes into the contest provided Wheaton's first chance. With 26:15 remaining in the first stanza, MIT sophomore Joshua Campoverde (Grand Fork, ND/Red River) had a breakaway down the right side of the field, but Wheaton junior keeper David Croft (Cape Elizabeth, ME/Cape Elizabeth) made a tremendous save to keep the game scoreless.

The Lyons had multiple chances in the final 10 minutes of the half, including a negated goal by freshman Dan Lane (Dedham, MA/Worcester Academy) due to a Wheaton foul and a header off the crossbar from sophomore Trevor Cote (Portsmouth, RI/Providence Country Day School). Junior Cameron Habib (Norfolk, MA/Bridgton Academy) also had a golden opportunity with five minutes to go, but his shot in close was denied by MIT first-year goalie Thomas Caldwell (East Berlin, PA/Bermudian Springs).

In the second half, Shea took a header from Cote and drove his shot into the right netting in the 49th minute. The play began on a restart from senior James Greenslit (Framingham, MA/Rivers School) in the middle of the field. Shea's second goal at 71:40 was also a direct result of a Greenslit free kick. Greenslit dumped the ball in to sophomore Ian Walker (Marblehead, MA/IMG Academy) on the left side of the box, and Walker gave a short cross over to Shea for the header finish.

Wheaton's third goal came courtesy of an outstanding bicycle kick from junior Chris Sentance (Concord, MA/Williston Northampton School) in the 84th minute. Picking up the assist was Habib, who found an open Sentance in the top left of the box. Sentance turned his body to the side in mid air and drove home a perfectly-placed shot past Caldwell and into the right side of the goal. Croft turned aside four shots in the victory, while Caldwell accounted for four stops. Wheaton outshot MIT, 14-10, with corner kick opportunities even at five apiece.

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