Paul Smith’s Nathan Wiley, left, celebrates with teammate Seb Cecunjanin following Saturday’s victory. (Provided photo — Paul Smith’s College/Mercedes Rideout)

PAUL SMITHS — Wareham, Massachusetts native Nathan Wiley scored two goals 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.

“(It) feels good to open conference play with a win,” Wiley said. “Hopefully, we can keep it going Wednesday.”

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

Maddox Johnson of Ellicottville put the Bobcats up 3-1 on a give-and-go with Wiley in the 54th minute before the Hawks got 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,” Hance said. “A gritty win like that after some tough losses is exactly what we needed.”

First-year player Hyler Isham of Keene Valley 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,” Isham said.

Goalkeeper Cazimir Couble of Spofford, New Hampshire, had 18 saves en route to his third victory as the Bobcats moved to 3-5 on the season.

“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,” PSC head coach Chris George said.

In the absence of Grover and Curthoys, who were both USCAA All-Americans last season, players like Wiley (an All-American Honorable Mention) have needed to step up.

Wiley currently leads both the conference and the nation in points with 14 — six goals and two assists. The junior midfielder was this past week’s Yankee Small College Conference and United States Collegiate Athletic Association Men’s Division II Player of the Week.

“Nate’s been on a tear scoring goals, and I’m impressed by how our younger guys have stepped up,” George said. “Maddox has a bunch of goals, including another one today. Hyler and Seb (Cecunjanin) 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.”

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