DANBURY, Conn. - The Western Connecticut State University Wolves handed the visiting Ramapo College Roadrunners a 3-1 loss today in men's soccer action at Westside Stadium. Three different Wolves scored goals, as WestConn defeated the Roadrunners for the first time since 2023 and avenged a 2-0 loss to them in New Jersey last autumn. WestConn improves to 2-1-2 and Ramapo falls to 2-2. The Wolves will open Little East Conference (LEC) play next on Friday at 3 p.m. against Castleton.
The offenses started slowly with just five shots-on-goal in the first 43 minutes, four for WestConn and one for Ramapo, but the Wolves got on the board thanks to a goal by senior
Lucas Fernandez (Stamford, Conn.) with 1:05 left in the first half. Fernandez handled a bouncing pass from the left flank by junior
Juan Gomez Herrera (Brentwood, N.Y.) and pushed the ball past Ramapo goalie Zachary Natt for his first marker with the Wolves.
WestConn came out firing in the second, as sophomore forward
Matthews Rocha (Danbury, Conn.) had a shot saved by Natt in the 48th minute and junior
Demani Gordon (Bronx, N.Y.) netted his first goal with the Wolves moments later when he converted on a pass ahead by junior
Nickolas Santana (New Haven, Conn.) in the 49th minute. Ramapo cut its deficit in half just 29 seconds after Gordon's goal thanks to a well-placed shot from deep on the right wing by Dylan Perez and assisted by Leon Mandile.
Natt denied shots by both Rocha and Santana in the 51st minute before sophomore midfielder
Romario Bunjaj (Mahopac, N.Y.) sent a lofting shot over Natt's head and into the upper left corner to give WestConn a 3-1 lead in the 62nd minute. Rocha provided an assist on the play. Natt made three more stops over the final 28 minutes of play to finish with 10 in the game, and WestConn rookie
Aime Ruggles (Bronx, N.Y.) preserved the home team's two-goal lead with a stop against Ramapo's Luca Cascio with four minutes left to play. WestConn finished with a 21-to-8 shooting edge but the Roadrunners doubled up the Wolves on penalty corners, 8-4. Ruggles improved to 2-0 with three saves.
