Norton, Mass. – October 31, 2023 – The Springfield College men's soccer team saw its 2023 season come to a close this afternoon in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship Tournament Quarterfinals as the sixth-seeded Pride fell to third-seeded Wheaton College, 4-0, on Keefe Field.

Springfield closes the year with an overall record of 5-7-5, while Wheaton improves to 8-4-6 and will take on second-seeded Babson College on Thursday, November 2 at a time to be determined later.

Wheaton owned a 12-1 advantage in shots over the first half and scored three times in a span of less than 20 minutes on a total of five shots in the second half to pull away for the 4-0 final. The Lyons took a 1-0 edge into halftime after Leao Nelson snuck the ball into the back of the net off a cross from the far side from Alasdair Ferrier.

Springfield's lone shot of the first half came in the 25th minute from Parker Thornton (Malden, Mass.), who had a look at the first goal of the game for either side when his shot blasted off the right post and out of play.

Wheaton pulled away in the second half as Alberto Franceschi headed the ball into the net off a free kick from Luke Strage in the 49th minute. Joey Everett made it a 3-0 Lyons lead 2:05 later when he broke through the Springfield defense and finished in the back left corner, while Ferrier tallied his third point of the game when he fired the ball over the hands of Noah Pote (Washington, Conn.) to account for the final of Wheaton's four goals on the afternoon.

The Lyons held a 17-2 advantage in shots and an 11-4 differential in corner kicks. Pote stopped the ball three times for Springfield, while neither Wheaton keeper was forced to make a save over the course of 90 minutes.

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