BOSTON, Mass – Three different players tallied goals to help the WPI men's soccer team to its fourth straight victory, a 3-1 triumph over Wentworth in non-conference action played on Sweeney Field. With the win the Engineers improve to 9-2-1 while the Leopards fall to 2-10-0.
An evenly played battle through the early stages of the contest yielded few scoring chances for both squads. In the 22nd minute the Leopards had a chance to break the ice but junior Adam Rhodes (Litchfield, Conn.) rifled a shot off the crossbar, which bounced down and out of the box.
The Engineers broke the tie at 37:37 when senior Ditton Kawalya (Kanbala, Uganda) sent a pass across the box that sophomore Chris Murray (Canton, Mass.) collected and put a shot home inside the left post. The score remained 1-0 at the half with the shots even at 7-all.
WPI added to its lead at 69:19 when freshman Adam Huber (Brewster, Mass.) took a shot that was blocked by a pair of Leopard defenders. Freshman Matt Farrell (Groveland, Mass.) collected the rebound and found the back of the net to give the visitors a 2-0 lead. With 5:29 left junior Connor Bolton (Warwick, R.I.) fed a pass to junior Shane Fagan (Middletown, R.I.) whose shot rattled off the right post and into the net.
The Leopards got on the board 1:04 later when Rhodes served a corner kick in the box where freshman Alec Watkinson (Merrimack, N.H.) put a one-timer to the left.
Senior Jeff Wong (Millington, N.J.) made 10 saves for WPI while freshman Chase Richard (Warwick, R.I.) made five stops for the Black & Gold. The hosts had an 18-15 shot advantage and a 9-2 edge on corner kicks.
Both teams are in action on Saturday in Springfield. WPI is at Springfield College at 1:00, while Wentworth is at Western New England at 11:00 a.m.
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
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WPI................. 1 2 - 3
Wentworth........... 0 1 - 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 37:37 WPI Chris Murray (2) (Ditton Kawalya)
2. 69:19 WPI Matt Farrell (5) (Adam Huber)
3. 84:31 WPI Shane Fagan (1) (Connor Bolton)
4. 85:35 WIT Alec Watkinson (3) (Adam Rhodes)
Shots: WPI 15, Wentworth 18
Saves: WPI 10 (Jeff Wong 10), Wentworth 5 (Chase Richard 5)
