WESTON, Mass. – In a close contest, Regis College picked up a goal in the second half to pull ahead and then held on to defeat Westfield State, 2-1, Wednesday afternoon in a non-conference men's collegiate soccer match at Regis Stadium.
The action went back and forth in the second half, with both teams earning scoring chances. Finally, in the 72nd minute, Regis put a play together as Agu Silva-Olivera (Lunenburg, Mass.) fed Brevin Frankel (Millbury, Mass.) the ball in the left side of the box. Frankel sent a crossing pass to Archie Bonga (Providence, R.I.), who blasted a shot into the net for his first career goal.
Westfield State quickly responded as Carter Hebert sent a shot on net a minute later, but Regis keeper Kyle Weidemann (Piscataway, N.J.) was able to make the save. The Pride had a golden opportunity to extend their lead in the 76th minute as a scramble in front of the Owl net left the Westfield State keeper out of position, but an Owl defender kept a shot from Zack Acciardo (Derry, N.H.) out of the net.
The Owls pressured the Pride defense in the final minutes of regulation, first with a shot by Bryant Keeney that was turned away by Weidemann. Westfield State earned a corner kick opportunity in the last 25 seconds, but a shot by Edwin Zaruma Buri was off-target, clinching Regis' third victory within its first four matches of the season.
The Pride struck first in the 10th minute as Federico Lavini-Ayalla (Weston, Fla.) corralled the ball after it had been deflected by the Owl defense and found the back of the net for his second goal of the season. Westfield State gained the majority of the possession as the first half went along, but Pride starting goalie Ethan Donahue (Methuen, Mass.) picked up saves on shots by Hebert and Keeney.
Westfield State took advantage of a Regis mistake with 15 minutes left in the first half, as Hebert grabbed a Pride turnover and converted on his scoring opportunity to tie the match at 1-1. Both teams had chances to notch another goal before halftime, but the buzzer sounded with the contest remaining deadlocked.
Donahue finished with four saves in 63 minutes of action while Weidemann collected two saves in 27 minutes as he earned the victory. Owls keeper Collin O'Brien was credited with three saves as his team outshot the Pride, 20-13, led by Keeney with six total shots.
Regis College (3-1, 0-1 GNAC) heads back into conference play with a road match at Norwich Saturday, Sept. 17, starting at 6 p.m. Westfield State (0-4-2) begins its league competition by hosting Framingham State Saturday at 12 p.m.
Release courtesy of Regis College sports information