Wiley Scores Another Brace as Bobcats Defeat Hawks at Home

Paul Smiths, NY ~ This past week's Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) and United States Collegiate Athletic Assiciation (USCAA) Men's Division II Player of the Week proved once again why he might be in the running for Player of the Year.

The Wareham, MA native, Nathan Wiley, scored yet another brace and added an assist as he led the Bobcats to a home conference win against the York County Community College Hawks 3-2 on Saturday in front of a robust and supportive home crowd.

The junior midfielder was humble about his stellar play when asked about it, simply saying that it "Feels good to open conference play with a win.  Hopefully we can keep it going Wednesday."

Wiley got the Bobcats on the board in the 21st minute after a lovely setup from Bryce Calderwood (Liverpool, NY).  Isaac Rodeiguez-Nkanza tied it at 1-1 after a bobble in the back.  Wiley would regain the lead before the end of the first half as he used his speed to beat the York County keeper to a 50-50 ball on a beautiful free spot service from senior captain Kagan Hance (Chester, VT).

Maddox Johnson (Ellicotville, NY) put the Bobcats up 3-1 on a textbook top-box give-and-go with Wiley in the 54th minute before the Hawks would get one back just two minutes later as Kevin Paulino buried his first of the season.

A major turning point was in the 50th minute after Hance made a goal-line clearance and saved what would've been the inevitable game-tying goal.

"We needed a win to build momentum," said Hance.  "A gritty win like that after some tough losses is exactly what we needed."

First year player Hyler Isham (Keene Valley, NY) had a strong game in the midfield, controlling play and stopping threats before they started. 

"Winning at home in front of our fans is always a great feeling," said Isham.

Goalkeeper Cazimir Couble (Spofford, NH) made an impressive 18 saves to earn his third victory as the Bobcats move to 3-5 on the season.  They've packed their early season schedule with tough opponents -  in eight games, half have been against NCAA Division III competition.  Head Coach Chris George spoke to the experience of playing against top competition from outside of a team's comfort zone.

"We've had some difficult luck with injuries and we've found it tough to get results against good teams with some of our most experienced players like Nick (Grover) and Liam (Curthoys) out," said George.

In the absence of Grover and Curthoys, who were both USCAA All-Americans last season, players like Wiley (an All-American Honarable Mention) have needed to step up.  Wiley currently leads both the conference and the nation in points with 14 (6G/2A).

"Nate's been on a tear scoring goals, and I'm impressed by how our younger guys have stepped up.  Maddox has a bunch of goals including another one today.  Hyler and Seb were both good in the middle and played a huge part in our win today.  It says a lot about our character - we don't shrink from a challenge, we rise to it," added George.

The Bobcats are back at home on Wednesday, September 17th as they host Vermont State University at Randolph at 7pm under the lights.  The team is currently ranked fourth in the nation as they continue to build momentum into conference play.

You can follow the men's soccer team on Instagram at @paulsmithsmsoc or follow the general athletics account at @smitty_nation for scores, highlights, pictures, and much more!

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