Men’s Soccer plays to draw with Wesleyan

Box Score BRISTOL, R.I. – The Roger Williams University Men's Soccer team battled Wesleyan University to a scoreless double overtime tie Wednesday evening in non-conference action.

Wesleyan had strong ball control early on in the game, holding possession in the team's offensive end frequently. Wesleyan's Charlie Gruner (Stevenson, Md.) and Brandon Sousa (Waterbury, Conn.) each had strong shots on goal shortly into the contest. However, RWU's Tom Mangels (Garden City, N.Y.) made definitive saves on both attempts.

Both teams had great opportunities to score late in the half. Wesleyan's Daniel Issroff (New York, N.Y.) bent a free kick around the Hawk defense in the 37th minute, but fired it right at Mangels.

Conversely, Dan Kelly (Stratford, Conn.) was brought down in the box by a Cardinal defender, setting up a penalty kick. Kelly tried to hook the shot into the bottom right corner of the goal, but a diving stop by Wesleyan keeper Emmett McConnell (Merion Station, Pa.) kept the game scoreless, as both teams entered the break tied at zero.

Minutes into the second half, miscommunication on the Wesleyan defense nearly gave Roger Williams an easy goal. A bad pass to keeper McConnell from a Cardinal defender led to a loose ball on the left side and an open net. Hawk forward James Sheldon (Amherst, N.H.) was almost able to track it down, but the defender recovered in time to force a goal kick.

Tyler Kuchenbecker (Wellesley, Mass.) had a couple of chance to give RWU its first score of the game in the 72nd minute. His kick attempt on a bouncing throw-in just was over the reach of his outstretched foot. Seconds later, he fired a pass sent his way in the box but had it deflect off of Ben Touloutte (Boston, Mass.) of Wesleyan.

Neither team could garner a good scoring opportunity over the remainder of regulation, sending the scoreless contest into overtime. In the extra period, Kuchenbecker nearly ended the game for the Hawks in the 92nd minute, taking a pass across the penalty area from Sheldon on the right side. His shot just hooked around the right side of the post, missing the best chance for either team to score in the first overtime.

The second overtime period saw Wesleyan's Sousa have back-to-back attempts on a free kick, which he bounced into the Hawk wall. Issroff corralled the loose ball and put up a shot of his own, but was denied off of a jumping fingertip save by Mangels. Neither team would have another good attempt the rest of the match, as the game ended in a tie.

Mangels had six saves in the game for RWU, while McConnell needed only one stop for Wesleyan.

Roger Williams opens Commonwealth Coast Conference play Saturday afternoon against Curry College. Wesleyan will also be in action on Saturday, traveling to Wheaton.

Print Friendly Version