DANBURY, Conn. —
Nickolas Santana (New Haven, Conn.) netted a trio of goals to lead the No. 1 Western Connecticut State University men's soccer team to a Little East Conference (LEC) Semifinal triumph, 4-3, over the visiting No. 4 University of Southern Maine Huskies at the Westside Athletic Complex on Saturday. The Wolves advance with a 13-3-5 record, while the Huskies finish 7-5-7. WestConn will host UMass Boston at the WAC at 1 p.m. in the LEC Finals.
Santana opened the contest with three straight goals in the first half, giving the hosts a 3-0 lead. In the opening minute and a half, Santana rallies the ball in the attacking zone before sending it to
Chance Campbell (Bartow, Fla.), who sends the ball between three Huskies back to Santana for an easy high-center goal. After a long pass from
Enzo LaGrassa-Gillet (Miami Beach, Fla.) near the midfield, Chance headed the ball to Santana for yet another connection with the twine in the 23rd minute. Seven minutes later, Santana scored again, this time off the feed by
Matthews Rocha (Danbury, Conn.). The eventual game-winner came off a high-center goal by
Lucas Fernandez (Stamford, Conn.) off a cross from
Jokin Martinez (Jamaica, N.Y.) in the 39th minute.
The Huskies rallied back for three unanswered goals in the second half thanks to Jonah Naratil, Liam Conneely and Cole Johnson. With less than a minute remaining in regulation, Connor Leclerc almost had a chance to even the score at four, but his goal was just high of the cage.
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