Ninth-ranked Williams snaps Wheaton's five-game unbeaten streak

September 16, 2007

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College men's soccer team took a 1-0 lead into the half before ninth-ranked Williams College triggered three goals in the second stanza, as the Lyons had their five-game unbeaten streak come to an end Sunday afternoon at Keefe Field.

Coming into today's action tied for sixth in National Soccer Coaches Association of America's (NSCAA) regional poll, Wheaton falls to 4-2-2 overall, while New England's top-ranked Ephs improve to 3-0.

In a tightly-contested opening half that saw Williams hold a slight 5-3 shot advantage, Wheaton had the better of chances. Freshman Josh Solomon (Acton, MA/Acton-Boxboro Regional) nearly broke the stalemate with 26 minutes to play, when his right-footed blast just cleared the crossbar and landed on top of the back netting. Two minutes later, Solomon broke through as he found open space at the top of the box before driving his shot into the lower left corner of the target.

Williams' best opportunity came with 21 minutes remaining, as senior Ryan Pelletier's (York, ME) shot was redirected by a Wheaton defender and eventually stopped by a diving save from freshman goalie Chris Smart (Brookfield, CT/Brookfield). The Ephs also had three corners in the half but came away empty, as the hosts carried the one-goal edge into the break.

The second half belonged to Williams, which tallied its three goals in a 33:24 span on 11 second-half shots and three corners. Pelletier had a hand in both the game-tying and game-winning goals. Pelletier managed to get just enough of junior Sam Empson's (Washington, DC) corner to knot the score at 50:16 before providing junior teammate Jay Ingram (Gahanna, OH) with the winner in the 75th minute. Ingram took the through ball and placed his left-footed shot into the bottom right corner of the net.

Senior Kit Fuderich (Founex, Switzerland) supplied an insurance goal on an unassisted tally at 83:40. Defensively, the visitors kept Wheaton at bay with just two second-half shots, as Solomon finished with four of the Blue and White's five on the day. The Lyons were also held without a corner kick. Smart stopped six shots in suffering his first loss of the season, while Williams sophomore Andrew Graham (Northbrook, IL) made two saves.

Wheaton will play in its first night game of the season Wednesday evening at Brandeis University. The non-conference game in Waltham is set for a 7:00 p.m. start.

SCORING: 1st 2nd Final
Williams (3-0) 0 3 3
Wheaton (4-2-2) 1 0 1

1st Half: WC- Josh Solomon (unassisted) 21:03

2nd Half: WILL- Ryan Pelletier (Sam Empson) 50:16, Jay Ingram (Pelletier) 74:02, Kit Fuderich (unassisted) 83:40

Goalie Saves: WC- Chris Smart 6; WILL- Andrew Graham 2

Shots: WC- 5; WILL- 16

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