WESTON, Mass. - Regis College battled one of the top teams in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC), but Johnson and Wales University picked up one goal in each half on its way to a 2-0 victory Tuesday night in a GNAC men's soccer contest at Regis Stadium.
Johnson and Wales controlled the action from the start, earning five shots on goal within the first 21 minutes of action that were all stopped by Regis goalie Freddie Beckmann (Franklin, Mass.). With 15 minutes remaining in the first half, Beckmann was able to stop Brian Miller's first shot attempt of the sequence, but Miller was able to corral the rebound and find the back of the net to put the Wildcats on the board.
Beckmann kept the Pride in the match with saves on consecutive shots by Conner Elliott and Nick Gutekunst in the first minute-and-a-half of the second half. However, the Wildcats broke through in the 57th minute with their second goal of the match as Ricky Africo set up Jonathan Baker for the tally.
The Pride's best scoring opportunity came in the 85th minute, starting with a breakaway by Agu Silva-Olivera (Lunenburg, Mass.) that was blocked by Wildcat keeper Brandon Coder, who came out to meet Silva-Olivera at the top of the box. The ball bounced out towards an onrushing Alfred Bresnahan (Marblehead, Mass.), whose blast was cleared away before it could cross the goal line.
Beckmann finished with a season-high 13 saves in 63:37 of action before Kyle Weidemann (Piscataway, N.J.) took over for the rest of the match and was credited with two saves. Jacob Friedman started in net for the Wildcats and played close to 77 minutes before Coder relieved him for the final 13 minutes of action.
Elliott led the Wildcats with eight total shots, including six shots on goal, while Africo and Gutekunst finished with four shots apiece.
Regis College (4-12-1, 1-10-1 GNAC) concludes its 2022 season, while Johnson and Wales (13-1-3, 10-0-2 GNAC) will host a quarterfinal match in the 2022 GNAC Men's Soccer Tournament Saturday, Oct. 29.