Norton, Mass. - October 28, 2017 - The Springfield College men's soccer team claimed its first New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Regular-Season title since 1999 on Saturday afternoon, as the Pride fell to Wheaton College, 2-1, in conference play.

The loss proved to be the first for the Pride this season, as the maroon and white is 13-1-1 overall and 5-1-1 in NEWMAC play. With its 5-1-1 record against conference opponents, Springfield College, which was ranked No. 17 in the D3Soccer.com National Rankings and No. 24 in the United Soccer Coaches Division III National Rankings, will be the top seed in the upcoming NEWMAC Championship Tournament and will host the semifinals and finals on Saturday, November 4 and Sunday, November 5. The loss drops Wheaton to 7-8-2 (2-4-1) to close out the year.

The Pride owned a 21-6 shot advantage over 90 minutes of play, while it was also awarded six corner kicks to the Lyons' two. In net for the Pride, Stewart Frank (Pittsford, N.Y.) did not make a save, while his counterpart, Erik Wisniewski (Salisbury, Mass.) had to make eight saves over 90 minutes of play to come away with the win.

The Lyons jumped out to an early 1-0 lead over Springfield College as Curran Wait (Scituate, Mass.) drilled one from inside the 18-yard box to give Wheaton the advantage. Opening the second half of play, Amara Sesay (Bronx, N.Y.) scored the eventual game winner as he dribbled through a pair of defenders before slotting a shot past Frank to make it 2-0, hosts, with 43:11 to play.

Putting the pressure on late, Springfield College finally broke through as Brendan Claflin (Burlington, Mass.) scored an unassisted goal with 14:42 to play, but the rally fell short, allowing Wheaton to prevail.

Up next, Springfield College will wait to host the winner of No. 4 Clark University and No. 5 MIT, which will take place on Wednesday, November 1 in the NEWMAC Championship Quartefinals.