NORTON, Mass. (Courtesy Wheaton sports information) - The
Brandeis men's soccer team saw its four-match winning streak come
to at the hands of Wheaton College, the No. 22 team in the nation,
by a 2-1 score on Sunday at Keefe Field. Wheaton sophomore Eric
Driscoll's (Lexington, Mass.) 53rd-minute tally stood up as the
game-winner. The Lyons improved to 5-1-2, while the Judges fell to
6-2.
During a contest originally scheduled for Saturday but postponed
due to inclement weather, Wheaton had a pair of opportunities go
for naught early, as Driscoll hit the crossbar from 10 yards out in
the 10th minute before sophomore Josh Solomon (Acton, Mass.) sailed
a shot just over the bar a minute later.
Brandeis broke the scoring drought after freshman Evan
Ersing (Beverly, Mass.) sent a short cross from the left
flank inside the box to classmate Alexander Farr
(Nahant, Mass.), who drove a one-timer into the right corner of the
net at 16:57. The Judges nearly made it 2-0 in the 29th minute, but
Lyon sophomore keeper Cole Davidson (Needham, Mass.) made a diving
save of freshman David McCoy's (Weymouth, Mass.)
point-blank shot.
Wheaton responded by knotting the game in the 33rd minute, as
freshman Chris Thomas (Cumberland, Maine) stole the ball in the
midfield and drilled a shot from 30 yards out off the crossbar and
in at 32:48. The marker was his first as a collegian.
After holding an 8-4 advantage in shots at halftime but standing
tied on the scoreboard, the Lyons took the lead on Driscoll's
tally. Freshman Pablo Mena (San Salvador, El Salvador) touched a
pass through the defense to Driscoll, who found the lower left
portion of the netting at 52:54 despite freshman keeper
Sean O'Hare's (Southampton, Mass.) diving
attempt.
Wheaton nearly put the contest away in the following minutes, as
Mena was denied by a diving O'Hare stop in the 54th minute, and
shots off the feet of Driscoll and Mena were both turned aside in
the 56th minute thanks to a pair of quick-reaction stops from the
keeper.
Brandeis nearly tied the game back up in the 71st minute, but
Farr's apparent goal was negated due to an offsides call, and
freshman Luke Teece's (Tucson, Ariz.) shot from 20
yards out with 1:14 remaining rolled wide left.
Davidson finished with two saves, while the Lyons held advantages
of 16-10 in shots and 7-4 in corner kicks. O'Hare made five stops
for the Judges.