Men’s Soccer: O’Brien’s Late Goal Sparks Comeback, But Eastern Falls Short

10/22/2025 8:24:00 PM | By: Alyssa French-Graham

Box Score
DANBURY, Conn.— A late goal from Niall O'Brien (Guilford) proved not enough, as Eastern Connecticut State University men's soccer fell 2-1 to in-state adversary Western Connecticut State University in a Little East Conference match, Wednesday night at the Westside Athletic Complex.

Game Information:

Score: Eastern Connecticut State University 1, Western Connecticut State University 2
Records: Eastern (8-6-0) (LEC 4-2-0) Western (11-5-3) (LEC 7-0)
Location: Danbury, Conn. (Westside Athletic Complex)

Key Moments:

After a scoreless first half, at the 47th mark of the game, Western Connecticut's midfield pushed the ball into the Wolves' attacking zone. Western's Juan Gomez Herrera sent a pass up the foreside of the pitch, looking for a Western rendezvous in the attacking zone, as the ball was received at the crux of the box and sent in right at the goal line, finding Matthews Rocha for a clean strike at the goal line to end the scoring silence.
In the 70th minute, Western struck again. The Wolves regained possession of a misplayed ball and raced up centerfield, sending a long pass received at the ten by Jokin Martinez. Martinez pushed past Eastern's defense before firing a powerful strike that slipped past Eastern goalkeeper Jack Harmon (Manasquan, NJ). The Wolves doubled up, two-nothing with just 19 minutes to go in the second half.
Eastern fought back two minutes later. A foul by Western Connecticut set a penalty kick for the Warriors, taken by O'Brien, whose initial shot was blocked by Western's Makai Smith. Though the Wolves keeper was unable to keep control of the ball and off the rebound, O'Brien took a precise header into the keeper-less net for Eastern's first goal of the match, with only 17 minutes remaining until regulation.

Scoring Summary:

47:28 – Western Connecticut – Matthews Rocha (assist: Nikolas Chevres)
70:48 – Western Connecticut – Jokin Martinez
72:08 – Eastern Connecticut – Niall O'Brien

Game Notes:

Western Connecticut defeated Eastern, securing a 2-1 conference victory.
Western Connecticut outshot Eastern, taking 13 (three on goal), and Eastern finished with eight, four on goal.
Corner kicks favored Eastern, 2-1.
Goalkeeper saves totaled one for Eastern and three for Western Connecticut.
Eastern committed six fouls, while Western Connecticut committed five throughout the match.
Four penalties were issued during the match.

Up Next:
Eastern Connecticut State University men's soccer will host the University of Southern Maine for a Little East Conference match-up Saturday, October 25th, at 1:00 p.m. EST.

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