Local Colleges

An own goal just 8:44 into the contest proved to be the difference Friday afternoon, allowing top seed and host Daniel Webster College to slip past fourth-seeded Southern Vermont College in a tense New England Collegiate Conference men’s soccer semifinal at Eagle Field. With the win – the first home playoff victory for the Eagles in program history – Daniel Webster (11-5) will host either second seeded Lesley University or third seeded Newbury College Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in the championship tilt.

The Eagles, already with the most wins in the program’s history, took their lead after a Mountaineer defender moved to clear a loose ball in front but the attempt deflected off the back of a fellow defender into the net. Southern Vermont pressed to respond and almost tied it with 11 minutes to go in the first as Nick Haggerty sent a low 8-yarder from in front that was knocked down by Eagles keeper Joe Keene, who would finish with seven stops on the day.

Mountaineer Noah Massucci followed with a header off a free kick with 3:30 remaining in the period that beat Keene but just missed the open net to the far left.