DANBURY, Conn. — In the Wolves' Little East Conference (LEC) opener, the Western Connecticut State University men's soccer team dominated offensively in the 3-0 triumph over the visiting Vermont State University Castleton Spartans at the Westside Athletic Complex on Friday. WestConn improved to 3-1-2 and 1-0 in the league, while Castleton dropped to 0-2-2 and 0-1 in the conference.
Nickolas Santana (New Haven, Conn.) and
Jokin Martinez (Jamaica, N.Y.) netted their first goals this season, while Jeffery Norales (Bronx, N.Y.) and
Ben Tomas (Danbury, Conn.) assisted on their first of the campaign.
The eventual game-winner was an own goal at 4:08, as Demani Gordan (Bronx, N.Y.) was near the ball after Santana crossed it to him in front of the box; however, Spartans defender Wyatt Robbie deflected it into the twine while trying to stop it. In the 29th minute, Santana gave the Wolves the two-goal lead off the boot of Norales.
The closest attempt the Spartans had to wiping the goose egg off the scoreboard was when Jacques Alfani was one-on-one with a pursuing
Gabriel Lopes (Danbury, Conn.) on his heels, but
Makai Smith (Bridgeport, Conn.) left the goalie box for a sliding retrieval of the ball in the 37th minute.
Martinez struck for the Wolves' third goal of the contest off the header from Tomas, who cleared a defender for a sweeping kick by Martinez in the 80th minute. Martinez almost had another goal in the 53rd minute as Castleton's goalkeeper Xander Berthiaume initially fumbled the save after Gordan's shot, but recovered the ball by smothering it before Martinez tapped it in.
The Wolves' backfield aided in Smith's shutout as
Ernesto Zamorano Gomez (Peeksill, N.Y.), Johnn Padilla (Bronx, N.Y.) and
Enzo LaGrassa-Gillet (Miami Beach, Fla.) deflected several visitor shots to maintain the scoreless win. Smith made a trio of saves, while Berthiaume denied six.
