Men's Soccer Falls to Wheaton, 4-0

NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College men's soccer team cruised to a 4-0 shutout victory over visiting Bridgewater State University on Monday afternoon at rain-soaked Keefe Field.

Senior forward Alberto E. Franceschi (Carupano, Venezuela) and junior forward Luke Strange (Portland, Ore.) each scored and assisted on a goal to lead the way for the hosts.

The Lyons improve to 2-1 on the season, while the Bears fall to 0-2. Wheaton is now 23-3 all-time versus the Bears as the two teams first met back in 1992.

Wheaton dominated possession from start to finish as the Lyons outshot the Bears by a decisive margin of 21-4 and held a commanding 17-2 edge in corner kick attempts.

The game was scoreless until late in the first half. Wheaton freshman midfielder Ethan Thompson (Norwell, Mass.) netted his first collegiate goal in the 43rd minute to finally break the ice. The Lyons' newcomer beat the BSU keeper with a hard strike into the right corner of the net with 2:54 remaining in the opening stanza.

Wheaton would take a 1-0 lead into the break.

Franceschi potted his first goal of the season to make it a 2-0 game as he converted a crossing pass from Strange in the 51st minute. Just over five minutes later, Strange notched his second marker of the year as he buried a shot off a short crossing pass from Francheschi who was stationed near the right post.

Sophomore forward Alasdair Ferrier (Concord, N.H.) capped off the scoring for the Lyons in the 72nd minute. Ferrier intercepted a pass from a BSU defender playing back to his keeper, and slipped behind the netminder for a shot into the right corner for his team-leading third goal of the season.

The Bears best scoring opportunity came when sophomore forward Ethan Lafontant (Chelmsford, Mass.) blasted a shot off the right pose in the 40th minute.

Freshman goalkeeper Michael O'Gara (Ardmore, Pa.) and senior netminder Kris Strempel (Longmeadow, Mass.) combined on the shutout for the Lyons. O'Gara stopped two shots in his collegiate debut, while Stempel played the final 15:15 and was untested.

BSU senior netminder William Russell (Sandwich, Mass.) turned asided six shots in 71:28 of action, while junior keeper Lukas Ekmanis (Baxter, Tenn.) came on in relief and did not face a shot over the final 18:32 of play.

Both teams are back in action on Wednesday. The Bears travel to Rhode Island College for a six o'clock game with the Anchormen, while the Lyons entertain Gordon College at five.