WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Gallaudet University men's soccer team came up short against Wells College Saturday afternoon in a tight contest at Hoy Field. The Bison were unable to overcome an early second half goal by Express freshman midfielder Wyatt Buerkle en route to a 1-0 North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) loss.

Buerkle buried the game's only goal just three minutes after halftime. Wells (5-3, 2-2 NEAC) took the second half's opening kick and controlled the ball before working it deep into Bison territory. The Express earned a corner kick and junior midfielder Adam Sullivan placed the ball into the middle of the goalie box. Initially, neither the Gallaudet defense nor the Wells offense could corral the loose ball but it eventually found its way to the feet of Buerkle who buried it into the back of the net from about 15 yards out.

The pace of the game's final 15 minutes sped up significantly as the Bison (2-5, 0-2 NEAC) frantically tried to score the equalizer and tie the game at one goal apiece. They earned three corner kicks and got off three shots but were unable to capitalize on the opportunities before time ran out.

The first half was a defensive struggle as neither team could find the back of the net. Both Gallaudet and Wells came firing out of the gate but could not get anything going offensively, rarely challenging either goalkeeper.

Gallaudet sophomore goalkeeper Eric Setzer (Middletown, Md.) faced 14 shots and finished the day with five saves. His counterpart Dominic Finch made 10 saves on the afternoon for the Express, picking up the win in his first career start. Freshman midfielder Said Latrik (Washington, D.C.) led the Bison with six shots (five shots on goal) and senior forward Jean-Pierre Kanashiro (Springfield, Va.) finished second with four (three shots on goal).

The one-goal defeat represented a vast improvement over last season's result for the Bison as they suffered a 5-0 road loss to the Express. Gallaudet has not beaten Wells since they began playing regularly as part of the NEAC in 2010.

The Bison will look to pick up their first conference win of the season tomorrow (Sunday, Sept. 23) against the Keuka College Storm at Hotchkiss Field at 2 p.m.