Men's Soccer: Keene (12 Stops) Shines As Eagles Hold Off Lesley, 1-0

Spencer Bernard's first goal this season held up as the eventual game winner Saturday against Lesley.

Nashua - The Daniel Webster men's soccer team didn't get too many good looks at the Lesley net during Saturday's NECC opener at Eagle Field.

Luckily, they only needed to covert once.

Senior Spencer Bernard (Windsor Locks, Conn.) used his head to redirect an Andrew Donovan throw in with just 8:56 remaining in regulation and senior Joe Keene (Bristol, N.H.) put forth one the best efforts of his remarkable career making 12 saves as the Eagles held off the Lynx, 1-0 at Eagle Field.

Bernard's header, his first goal of the season, gave the Eagles (4-2, 1-0 NECC) a huge early season boost against a Lynx (6-2-1, 0-1 NECC) program that edged DWC as the preseason favorite for the NECC title and halted Lesley's unbeaten streak at five.

Lesley controlled the contest throughout offensively, and finished with a remarkable 22-5 total shots advantage including 13-2 on goal. But DWC only needed one of those two to get the game-winner.

Keene meanwhile, was everywhere, stoning Lesley five times in the opening half and followed with eight second half stops to preserve his third shutout of the season while lowering his season GAA to 0.83.

Lesley keeper Max Perkins (Lexington, Mass.) made one stop. Lesley's leading scorer Ali Sozeri put five shots on goal to lead the squad.

The Eagles host Plymouth State on Tuesday in a nonconference matchup beginning at 3:30 p.m.