SPRINGFIELD, Mass. â€" Senior Mike Schnepp (Feeding Hills, MA) scored what proved to be the game winning goal on an assist by junior Mike Zawislak (Newark, DE) in the 84th minute as the Western New England College men's soccer team defeated Babson 2-1 on Wednesday at Suprenant Field in a battle of two of the top teams in the region.

The Golden Bears took a 1-0 lead when junior Evan Heymann (Ipswich, MA) scored his team leading sixth goal of the season with assists from sophomore Dan Lawrence (Easthampton, MA) and junior Rob Hensinger (Madison, CT) with just 2:33 remaining in the first half.

Schnepp’s third goal of the season gave WNEC a 2-0 lead  before Babson freshman Timothy Winn (Sutton, MA) tallied with an assist by senior Matt Hart (Ashland, MA) with 4:04 left in regulation.

The win was the fourth straight for Western New England College who improved its record to 9-1. Babson dropped to 6-2-2. The Beavers entered the match was fifth in the NSCAA Division III New England poll while the Golden Bears were ranked sixth. 

Coach Erin Sullivan's squad has defeated two teams ranked in the top 10 in New England in the past week. WNEC upset top-ranked Williams 3-2 on September 21.

Story written by Steve Negron, Western New England College athletic communications intern