NEW LONDON, Conn.  -  The Coast Guard Academy men's soccer team lost a tough one to Emerson College, 0-1, in conference play on Wednesday night. Emerson improves to 6-8-2 (2-3-1 NEWMAC), while Coast Guard will move to 11-4-2 (4-2-1 NEWMAC) heading into the final game day of the regular season this upcoming Saturday.

The first 45 minutes went by without a goal from either team. Coast Guard took five shots, two of which were on target and attempted by Jake Fish and Michael Porter. Emerson had one shot on goal, which was a header by defender Daniel Bede on a corner kick. The visitors attempted two corner kicks to Coast Guard's one attempt. The Bears were called for three fouls, while Emerson was whistled on two.

The game was locked in a scoreless stalemate until the 81st minute. An Emerson throw-in to Coast Guard's penalty box bounced around between defenders and attackers before finally falling to the Lions' Anthony Ramlochan, who managed to send a low shot past goalkeeper John Putnam to break the deadlock. Coast Guard was unable to equalize before the final whistle.

The Lions were persistent in the second half, taking 11 shots, with five being on-target. Coast Guard was able to fire three more shots on net, the best of the half being a last-ditch effort by Aki Freeman in the 84th minute, which bounced off the left woodwork. The other attempts were credited to Fish and Jude Sargent.

Putnam and Emerson goalkeeper Beckett Hobbs finished the night with five saves each. Emerson took four corner kicks in total to the Bears' three, while Coast Guard held an 8-7 difference on fouls. The Lions' Dominic Reiter was awarded the only yellow card of the night in the 57th minute after nearly taking Fish's legs off with a challenge on the sideline near Emerson's bench. Before play resumed, Reiter could be seen checking on Fish and ensuring there wasn't any bad blood between the two.  

Coast Guard men's soccer will be on the road for their regular-season finale, making their way to #11 Babson College for a 1 p.m. kick-off on Saturday, November 2nd. The Beavers have played to an 11-1-6 (6-0-1 NEWMAC) record, gaining national recognition in the process, and clinched the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament with their win tonight at Clark University.

Coast Guard will be playing for the second seed, of which they currently have possession, but the final seeding will depend on the results of their game and Salve Regina vs. Springfield. Salve and Springfield currently hold the third and fourth seeds in the playoffs, respectively, with Salve sitting at a point behind Coast Guard and the Pride sitting a point behind the Seahawks. A win at Babson clinches the second spot for the Bears, giving them a bye from the first round of the tournament; with a draw, they'll keep the second seed with a Springfield win; if the Bears lose, they still keep the seed with a draw between the Pride and the Seahawks.