2006 NCAA MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND - Wheaton sees season come to end following 2-1 loss to Western New England

November 11, 2006

AMHERST, MA- The Wheaton College men's soccer team fell for just the second time in the last 14 games Saturday afternoon, as the Lyons suffered a hard-fought 2-1 setback to Western New England College in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at Amherst College's Hitchcock Field.

Wheaton, which dropped its second contest of the season to the Golden Bears, completes its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance with an overall record of 12-5-4. Western New England advances to tomorrow's second round game against host Amherst at 1:00 p.m. The Golden Bears improved to 15-5-2 while extending their unbeaten streak to eight games.

Following a scoreless first half in which shots and corner kick opportunities were virtually even, Western New England broke the stalemate just 1:09 into the second stanza, as senior Evan Heymann (Ipswich, MA/Ipswich) scored his team-leading 12th goal of the season. The Golden Bears made it a 2-0 game in the 57th minute, as senior Scott Rogers (Middlefield, CT/Coginchaug) used a header off a rebounded shot from senior Kofi Oteng (Worcester, MA/Burncoat) for what turned out to be the game-winner.

Wheaton leading scorer and sophomore Dan Lane (Dedham, MA/Worcester Academy) cut the Lyon deficit in half with his 11th goal of the fall midway through the frame, with junior Trevor Cote (Portsmouth, RI/Providence Country Day School) and sophomore Ben Resnicow (Newton, MA/Newton North) being credited with the assists.

Western New England nearly added a third goal with 13 minutes remaining when sophomore Jim Maples (Pleasant Valley, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) headed a free kick, but Wheaton senior keeper Matt Pachniuk (Newtown, CT/Newtown) made a sprawling save to keep the game close. However, the Lyons were unable to find the equalizer in the closing minutes.

Pachniuk finished with four saves in defeat, while Golden Bear senior keeper Chris Wilk (Derry, NH/Pinkerton Academy) posted five stops. The Lyons held a 13-10 advantage in shots and a narrow 7-6 edge in corner kicks.

Western New England 2, Wheaton 1
SCORING 1st 2nd Final
Wheaton (12-5-4) 0 1 1
Western New England (15-5-2) 0 2 2

2nd Half: WNEC- Evan Heymann (unassisted) 46:09, Scott Rogers (Kofi Oteng) 56:07; WC- Dan Lane (Trevor Cote, Ben Resnicow) 64:16

Goalie Saves: WC- Matt Pachniuk 4; WNEC- Chris Wilk 5

Shots: WC- 13; WNEC- 10

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