Westfield, Mass. –  Senior forward Josh Severns (Suffield, Conn.) scored in the 13th minute to lift the Westfield State University Owls to a 1-0 victory over the visiting Trinity College Bantams in a men's soccer game this evening at Alumni Field.  Trinity, which had to give up the home game due to poor playing conditions on its grass field, falls to 5-3-2 with its second straight 1-0 loss and its second defeat in a row to Westfield State.  The Owls improve to 8-2-1.

Registering assists on Severns' goal were sophomore midfielder Dan Brady (Wilbraham, Mass.) and senior forward Tim Parsons (Buzzards Bay, Mass.).  Brady lofted a pass to Parsons, who headed the ball past several Bantams in the direction of the goal. Marked by a defender, Severns settled the ball with his chest then ripped a short-range shot into the net.  Trinity senior Wesley Updike (Cambridge, Mass.) left-footed a hard shot from just outside the box that went wide left of the goal in the 22nd minute.  Off direct kicks, Bantam junior midfielder Anthony El-Hachem (Vernon, Conn.) forced Westfield State goalie Jeff Pepoli (Ashburnham, Mass.) to dive to save a shot in the first half, and shot just high of the goal early in the second stanza.

Both teams had 10 shots, with Westfield holding an 8-3 edge in the first half. Trinity passed well between the 20-yard lines but the Bantams were unable to crack the Owl defense. Trinity's best scoring opportunity came with eight seconds remaining in regulation when a shot by senior captain forward Dan Mayernick (Gladwyne, Pa.) was wide of the right post.  Bantam sophomores Zachary Packer (North Attleboro, Mass.) and Wesley Simon (New Hope, Pa.) each managed to get off second-half shots from in front of the goal that were saved by Pepoli.  Trinity senior captain Grant Schonberg (Mendham, N.J.) and Pepoli recorded four saves apiece.  Schonberg had to leave his feet once to stop a bid by Owl senior midfielder Kyle Yelin (Chesire, Mass.) in the 24th minute.

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