Men's Soccer 9/16/2022 12:00:00 AM

Game Preview: No. 22 Men's Soccer Vs. Wheaton

No. 22 Men's Soccer vs. Wheaton
Saturday, September 17 | 2:00 p.m.
Keefe Field | Norton, Mass.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Beavers have a slim 22-20-0 margin over Wheaton in the all-time head-to-head series dating back to 1990.
• Babson has won the last six contests between the two schools, including the last five that were decided by just one or two goals.

LAST MEETING
• Giancarlo Arguello '22 broke a scoreless deadlock with his first career goal in the 66th minute to lift No. 19 Babson to a 1-0 win over visiting Wheaton on September 18, 2021 at Hartwell-Rogers Field.
• A stout Babson defense held the Lyons without a shot on goal in the match. The Beavers finished with a 14-4 edge in total shots and attempted all four corner kicks in the match.
• Wheaton goalkeeper Diego Medina '22 stopped three shots in the setback.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 22 Babson (3-1-1, 0-0-0 NEWMAC) is coming off a 3-1 non-conference victory over Western New England on Wednesday at Hartwell-Rogers Field.
• Senior Ryan Grund tallied a goal and an assist and classmate Samuel Smith scored in the 71st minute to break a 1-1 tie in the win. Sophomore Lyndon Way notched his first goal of the season for the Beavers and classmate Louis Gazo, senior Mitchell Collins, junior Liam Rhatigan and first-year James Modiano collected assists.
• Junior Samuel Kalishman (2-1-5) leads the team in scoring while graduate student Ben Williams has two goals, each in the final 10 minutes of a win and a tie. Grund, Gazo and Collins have a goal and two assists apiece.
• Sophomore Walker White (1.24 GAA, 11 saves) has started all five matches between the pipes for the Green and White.

SCOUTING THE LYONS
• Wheaton (4-1-1, 0-0-0 NEWMAC) is unbeaten in its last four games (3-0-1) following Wednesday's 4-1 non-conference home win over Saint Joseph's of Maine. The Lyons have won all four of their home matches this fall.
• Sophomore Alasdair Ferrier netted a pair of goals to lead Wheaton in the win over St. Joe's. Senior Luca de Castro Novaes and junior Gavin Mahoney also scored for the Lyons.
• Ferrier (6-0-12) has a pair of two-goal games and leads the conference in goals and points. Junior Luke Strange (2-3-7) tops the squad in assists and senior Alberto E. Franceschi tallied a goal and an assist in a win over Bridgewater State.
• Senior Cam Millington (3-1-0, 0.51 GAA, 12 saves) has started four matches between the pipes for the Lyons and first-year Michael O'Gara (1-0-1, 0.00 GAA, 4 saves) has gotten the nod in the other two.

NEWMAC OPENER
• Saturday's game will mark the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) season opener for both schools.
• Babson was picked first in the coaches' preseason poll, receiving six of the eight first-place votes, while Wheaton was voted tied for fourth with Springfield.

NEWMAC HISTORY
• Babson has posted a 19-2-6 record vs. NEWMAC foes since 2018.
• The Beavers have captured 10 straight road games vs. conference opponents and are unbeaten in last 12 vs. NEWMAC opponents since 2018.
• The Green and White have won or shared three of the last five NEWMAC regular season titles (2016, 2018, 2019) and have captured the last two conference tournament titles (2019, 2021).
• The Lyons are seeking their first regular season crown since 2014 and their first tournament title since 2013. Wheaton won six NEWMAC championships in eight years from 2000-2007.

LONG TIME COMING
• Babson goals by Samuel Smith and Ryan Grund against Western New England were both their first tallies since 2019.
• Smith, who was making his first appearance since 2019, potted his first goal since he scored in a 6-0 win over New England College on September 25, 2019.
• Grund struck for his first since November 7, 2019 in a 2-1 win over Wheaton in the NEWMAC Tournament semifinals.

HISTORICAL COACH ANDERSON
• Babson head coach Jon Anderson has moved into a tie for 18th all-time in Division III history with 431 wins, sharing the spot with Erick Baumann, Dominican (active) and Michael Russo, Williams (retired).
• Coach "A" is also tied for sixth among active Division III coaches and tied for 12th among NCAA soccer coaches in all divisions.

BALANCED SCORING
• Babson's 12 goals this season have come from 10 different players and 16 Beavers have collected at least one point.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Babson has won its last 10 games when scoring at least two goals dating back to last season. The Green and White are 44-3 since the start of 2016 when scoring at least twice.
• The Beavers are 3-0 this season and 14-0-1 dating back to last season when scoring the first goal of the game. They are 35-4-3 after scoring first since 2018, and 90-11-6 going back to 2013.

UP NEXT
• The Beavers return to Hartwell-Rogers Field for a pair of games next week, beginning with No.2-ranked Amherst on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in a rematch of last year's NCAA Tournament second round matchup.

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