WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Westminster grabbed an early lead in the first five minutes of the game and went on to defeat Washington & Jefferson, 2-1, in men's soccer action on Saturday afternoon at Alexandre Stadium. 

W&J lost its second consecutive Presidents' Athletic Conference game and fell to 1-5 overall this season. Westminster improved to 6-5 overall and 2-0 in league play.

Westminster took an early lead in the fifth minute when Nick Iregui slammed the ball with his chest into the goal off of a long throw-in by Sam Accordino.

The Presidents were able to tie the game at 1-1 going into halftime. Sophomore Parker Byas (Columbia, Md./ Mount Saint Joseph) was able to deflect the ball into the right corner of the net after a Michael Komaniak (Oakmont, Pa./ Riverview) corner kick in the 36th minute of action.

Westminster out-shot W&J, 12-10, in the opening 45 minutes of play.

In the second half, the Titans scored another early goal when Tyler Caterino was able to blast the loose ball in on a shot from just inside the box. 

For the game, W&J out-shot Westminster by a slim 21-20 margin. Byas led offensively for the Presidents, as he recorded five shots with four of those shots on goal. Joey Feola (Carnegie, Pa./ Central Catholic) and Zach Bowser (Beaver, Pa./ Beaver Area) each added three shots for the Presidents.

Senior goalkeeper Samuel Miller (Lewisburg, Pa./ Lewisburg) recorded nine saves in 90 minutes of action. Miller was backed by strong defensive efforts from defenders Feola, Quinn Pickering (Camp Hill, Pa./ Camp Hill), Jonathan Youse (New Cumberland, Pa./ Cedar Cliff) and Will Keber (Irwin, Pa./ Norwin). 

W&J returns to action at Alexandre Stadium on Oct. 6. The game against Saint Vincent in scheduled to start at 6:00 PM.