WILMINGTON Del.- The Caldwell University men's soccer team netted a pair of first half goals and held off a second half surge to defeat Wilmington University 2-1 in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference play.
 
The Cougars improve to 5-5-1 on the season and 3-3-0 in the CACC, while the Wildcats drop to 4-4-3 and 4-2-0 in conference play.
 
Caldwell got their goals in the opening half. Junior Joaquin Escudero (San Sebastian, Spain) gave the Cougars the early lead in the 21st minute off an assist from sophomore Hannes Bellgran (Umeaa, Sweden).
 
The Cougars added to their lead three minutes later as junior Tom Yorston (Northamptonshire, United Kingdom) netted his fifth goal of the season off a feed from freshman Alessandro Canino (Parma, Italy).
 
Caldwell held a two-goal advantage into the second half. Wilmington cut the score to 2-1 with a goal in the 75th minute of play. Despite being outshot for the game 20-7, the Cougars held off a late surge by the Wildcats to earn the win. Wilmington took three shots in the final two minutes but the Cougar defense held the lead.
 
In net, freshman Nils Svere (Lier, Norway) tallied seven saves in the win.
 
The Cougars travel to Nyack College on Tuesday, October 3 for a CACC match at 7 pm.