Sixth-ranked Wheaton falls to Western New England in double overtime

September 12, 2006

NORTON, MA- The nationally-ranked Wheaton College men's soccer team suffered its first overtime home loss since 1997 Tuesday afternoon, as Western New England College scored the game's lone goal in the 109th minute during the second extra session at Keefe Field. The Lyons, ranked sixth in the country and first in New England by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), fall to 4-1, while the Golden Bears, ranked fourth in the region, improve to 3-0-1.

Prior to sophomore Brian Dill's (Portland, CT/Portland) game-winner, Wheaton had gone unbeaten in 12 straight home overtime contests. The Lyons also had their 11-game overall unbeaten streak in overtime snapped, which dated back to September 2003. The Blue and White was 13-1-7 in extra-session games since October 2000.

Senior goalkeeper Matt Pachniuk (Newtown, CT/Newtown) single-handedly kept Western New England off the scoreboard in the opening half, coming up with three huge saves off point-blank shots from senior Evan Heymann (Ipswich, MA/Ipswich) and junior Michael Stewart (Springfield, MA/Cathedral).

The Wheaton defense continued to come up big in the second stanza, including clutch saves from Pachniuk and junior defender Jim Ferriero (Medway, MA/Medway). The Lyons' best regulation chance came with seven minutes left, when sophomore Dan Lane's (Dedham, MA/Worcester Academy) header ricocheted off the crossbar on a cross from senior Cameron Habib (Norfolk, MA/Bridgton Academy).

Lane had a couple early restart chances in the first overtime, but one was saved by senior keeper Chris Wilk (Derry, NH/Pinkerton Academy) and the other sailed over the far right corner of the goal frame. Heymann nearly ended the game with five minutes to play in the period but his shot deflected off the left post.

In the second extra session, Wheaton sophomore Justin Hart (Ashland, MA/Ashland) was stopped by Wilk with 5:30 remaining during the Lyons' best scoring chance. The Golden Bears' scoring play began with senior Michael Zawislak (Newark, DE/Saint Mark's) dumping in a short cross from the right endline. Dill came charging in toward the short side of the net and poked it past Pachniuk to clinch the win.

The Lyons begin defense of their New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) regular season championship Saturday morning with a road match against Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) at 10:30 a.m.

SCORING: 1st 2nd OT 2OT Final
Western New England (3-0-1) 0 0 0 1 1
Wheaton (4-1) 0 0 0 0 0

2nd OT: WNEC- Brian Dill (Michael Zawislak, Tim Larocca) 108:58

Goalie Saves: WC- Matt Pachniuk 7; WNEC- Chris Wilk 2

Shots: WC- 12; WNEC- 15

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