HARTFORD, Conn. — In the 18th minute, Nick Bellak (Amherst, Mass.) notched the first goal of the game and first of the season off a header in front of the net, but the Trinity College men's soccer team dropped a 2-1 nailbiter at home against the visiting Western Connecticut State University Wolves on Wednesday. Trinity dipped to 1-4-2 overall and WestConn moved to 7-1-2. The Bantams return to New England Small College Athletic Conference action on Saturday with an 11 a.m. matchup at home versus Bates College.

The visitors outshot the hosts by a 20-11 count, while also holding the lead in corner kick attempts, 4-2. Trinity drew first blood as Bellak found the back of the net less than 18 minutes into the contest off the long pass by Michael Traynor (Rye, N.Y.) nearly deflected by a Wolves' defender. The Navy & Gold have scored in four-straight games so far this season, the most since 2018 when the Bantams notched goals in eight-consecutive contests. However, Ian Mounts notched the equalizer shortly before halftime on an unassisted tally for his first goal of the season and Chance Campbell followed it up with the would-be game-winner in the 54th minute.

Matthew Silva and Zachary Benson split time in the net for WestConn, while Bernardo Simoes (Lisbon, Portugal) notched all nine of his saves in the second half of regulation. The backfield stood tall for Trinity in the opening half and only allowed six shots by the Wolves, as Dante Merlin (South Windsor, Conn.) denied the only shot aimed directly at the goal by WestConn's George Cortes. Kieran McCabe (Natick, Mass.) had a pair of close calls with back-to-back shots in the 64th minute, but Benson was there to make the stop and a WestConn defender blocked the second after he alluded the keeper. The first-year narrowly netted the equalizer at the 80 minute mark, but Benson remained quick footed for the close save.