Men’s Soccer Clipped at Western New England, 3-1, in CCC Opener

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's soccer team dropped a 3-1 decision at Western New England Saturday afternoon as it opened conference play.

The Lions fall to 3-3-1 overall and 0-1-0 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference with the result. The Golden Bears improve to 3-4-0 on the year and 2-0-0 in league matches.

The home team grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute as Logan Pingree netted his fourth goal of the season. After a give-and-go between Pingree and Maurice Young, Pingree evaded the Eastern Nazarene goalkeeper and rolled the ball into the cage.

Western New England doubled its advantage to 2-0 just moments later in the 22nd minute. Troy Remillard deposited third tally of the year as Pingree provided the helper with a threaded pass.

Despite outshooting the Golden Bears 6-4 in the first half, the Lions trailed 2-0 through 45 minutes of play.

Eastern Nazarene got on the board in the 61st minute, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Andrew Nelson (Burtonsville, Md.) collected his second marker of the fall, rifling a shot over the outstretched hands of the Western New England goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

The hosts restored their lead to two scores in the 81st minute, 3-1. Young booted home his first goal of the season after Brandon Bolger knocked the ball down inside the box.

The Lions finished with seven shots in the contest after mustering just one attempt in the second stanza. The Golden Bears fired 14 shots on the afternoon.

Jameson MacFarland (Jacksonville, Fla.) made his sixth start of the season in net and rookie Victor Mendoza (Cathedral, Calif.) took over between the pipes at the beginning of the second half and registered four saves.

"We come out slow in the first half and fell behind by two. We worked hard and started to move the ball better at the end of the half," commented head coach Mark Bell. "We really stepped things up in the second half and it paid off with Andrew's goal. The team showed a glimmer of how good they can play and I am very proud of the heart they showed against a good team."

Up next, Eastern Nazarene returns home to host Pine Manor in a midweek matchup September 21.