2006 NEWMAC MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT - Wheaton defends title with 1-0 win over Babson in championship contest

November 5, 2006

NORTON, MA- Junior Trevor Cote (Portsmouth, RI/Providence Country Day School) scored in the 13th minute to help the top-seeded Wheaton College men's soccer team defend its New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament title with a 1-0 victory over number two Babson College on Sunday at Keefe Field. By improving to 6-0 in NEWMAC Tournament title contests, the Lyons earned an automatic berth to their seventh NCAA Tournament and will learn tomorrow who they face.

Wheaton and Babson squared off in a NEWMAC Tournament final for the first time since 2000 and faced each other in a postseason contest for the sixth time in the last seven years, with the Lyons holding a 4-2 edge. The Blue and White, which improved to 12-4-4 while earning 13th-year head coach Matt Cushing his 200th career victory, is ranked fifth in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) New England poll, while the 12-6-3 Beavers stand 10th.

The Lyons netted the game's lone goal at the 12:17 mark, taking a lead they then protected for nearly 78 minutes. Senior Dennis Durao (West Hartford, CT/Northwest Catholic) started the game-winning play by sending a cross into the box, where a Babson defender made contact and headed the ball backwards off the crossbar. After hitting the goal frame, the ball dropped and settled at the feet of Cote, who buried his second goal of the year and his first collegiate game-winner.

Babson turned up the pressure midway through the half, and sophomore Timothy Winn (Sutton, MA/Sutton) nearly knotted the contest during the 31st minute but pushed a header high and to the right. Late in the period, senior Mark Dayvie (Cambridge, VT/BFA-Fairfax) streaked through the Wheaton defense to catch up with a long ball, but his shot with less than two seconds left was stopped by Lyon senior keeper Matt Pachniuk (Newtown, CT/Newtown), who rushed out toward the top of the box to make the sliding save as time expired.

Despite a Beaver receiving his second yellow card in the 50th minute and the visitors playing a man down during the remainder of regulation, Babson outshot the Lyons, 5-1 in the second half and had a handful of legitimate game-tying opportunities. Senior Jonny Hakala (New Ipswich, NH/Mascenic Regional) rushed the net on a cross but headed the ball wide during the 58th minute, while Winn connected on a header five minutes later that floated into Pachniuk's grasp. Winn had Babson's final scoring chance with 20 seconds remaining, but Pachniuk was able to corral Winn's diving header, and the Lyons milked the clock until the final horn.

Babson held advantages of 11-6 in shots and 7-5 in corner kicks, including a 6-2 edge in second-half corners. Pachniuk posted his third straight shutout thanks to four saves, while junior Chris Necklas (Guilford, CT/Guilford) faced only one shot on goal for the Beavers.

2006 NEWMAC MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT
Wheaton 1, Babson 0

SCORING 1st 2nd Final
Babson (12-6-3) 0 0 0
Wheaton (12-4-4) 1 0 1

1st Half: WC- Trevor Cote (Dennis Durao) 12:17

Goalie Saves: WC- Matt Pachniuk 4; BC- Chris Necklas 0

Shots: WC- 6; BC- 11

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 1/31/07.
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