Two-Goal Second Half Sends Bowdoin Past Wesleyan, 2-0
Courtesy Wesleyan Sports Information
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - Avenging a 3-2 overtime loss at home to Wesleyan University on Saturday, Oct. 27, Bowdoin College got a pair of second-half goals from freshman Ben Denton-Schneider to capture a 2-0 decision in the opening round of the 2007 NESCAC Men's Soccer Championship. Bowdoin advances to the semi-finals Saturday, Nov. 3 and will play host and top-seeded Amherst.
Wesleyan and Bowdoin met Saturday knowing the winner would likely host the loser in a first round game the next day. Saturday, Wesleyan came back from deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 to win in overtime at Bowdoin. Today, Bowdoin was the better of the squads. Wesleyan senior goaltender Jamie Hiteshew kept the Cardinals in the game for the opening 55 minutes making two goal-saving stops, one on a shot by senior Wolf Grueber with 2:30 left in the first period and the second five minutes into the second half on a shot by freshman Tim Prior. Bowdoin keeper senior Nathan Lovitz had three relatively easy stops in the first half, though he had to go down to collect a ball off the foot of Wesleyan junior Matt Nevin with 10 minutes remaining in the period. He did not need to make a save in the second period as Bowdoin asserted itself.
Bowdoin broke the ice in the 57th minute when senior Nick Figueiredo ran onto a loose ball behind the Wesleyan defense. His shot was stopped by the extended arm of Hiteshew but remained in play at the top of the box. Denton-Schneider was the first to get to it and chipped the ball into the left side of the net with little interference in front of him. In the 69th minute, Figueiredo targeted Denton-Schneider with a pass from the right side, and Denton-Schneider trapped, turned and put it home from 16 yards out for the 2-0 bulge. With his two goals, Denton-Schneider upped his season total to four.
Figueiredo leads Bowdoin in scoring with 29 points as he added his 11th assist to go along with his team-high nine goals.
Though Hiteshew made three more outstanding saves between the 72nd and 78th minutes, Wesleyan could generate little offense to counter the Bowdoin tallies. Bowdoin nearly added another goal in the 87th minute but a defensive save by Wesleyan senior back Ross Pemmerl prevented further damage.
Bowdoin ended Wesleyan's team-record 10-game win streak, dating back to a 2-1 victory at Western New England Sept. 23. No previous Wesleyan team had won more than eight games in a row. The streak also featured a team-record five consecutive shutouts including NESCAC wins over Conn. College, Colby, Tufts and Bates.
