DANBURY, Conn. - Freshman Nicola Acocella (Harrison, N.Y.) scored the game-winning goal in the 73rd minute to lead the Western Connecticut State University Wolves to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Trinity College Bantams in men's soccer action this evening at Westside stadium.  WestConn improves to 12-4-2 heading into a Little East Conference (LEC) game on Saturday at Southern Maine at 11 a.m.  Trinity drops to 2-10 with its third-straight loss against the Wolves.  WestConn sophomore midfielder Jeffrey Norales (Bronx, N.Y.) assisted on the clincher and junior goalkeeper Zachary Benson (Derby, Conn.) improved to 9-1-2 with two saves.

WestConn nearly jumped ahead in the opening minutes when the Wolves were awarded a penalty kick in the third minute, but the try by senior George Cortes (Fairfield, Conn.) was stopped by a diving Felix Schmidt in goal for the Bantams. The Wolves took a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute on a rebound by junior midfielder Kamal Sabar (Brooklyn, N.Y.).  WestConn senior midfielder Daniel Russo (Trumbull, Conn.) sent a corner kick from the left into the box that was headed toward the goal by sophomore back Enzo LaGrassa-Gillet (North Bay Village, Fla.).  Schmidt saved the initial shot but could not stop Sabar's second shot.  The Wolves continued to apply offensive pressure, as Schmidt was forced to make four more stops before halftime including back-to-back acrobatic stops against senior Zachary Tuccitto (Clinton, Conn.) and junior Nikolas Chevres (Miami, Fla.) in the 36th minute.

Trinity tied the game early in the second half when Nick Bellak blasted in a shot from outside the box on an assist by Ian Spiro in the 53rd minute.  The Wolves had several chances to take back the lead, including a hard shot off the cross bar by junior forward Ian Mounts (Middletown, Conn.) in the 63rd minute, another diving save by Schmidt against a shot by WestConn rookie Nickolas Santana (New Haven, Conn.) in the 70th minute, and a shot from close by Sabar with Schmidt out of position that sailed high moments later.  Norales controlled the ball in the middle of the field and quickly moved the ball to Acocella on the right who drilled home the game-winner for his seventh goal of the season.  A red card forced Trinity to play the final 16 minutes a player down and never threatened.