SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore Logan Pingree (Middletown, Conn.) scored with 25:14 remaining in regulation to snap a 1-all tie to lift the Western New England University men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology in a Commonwealth Coast Conference contest.
With the win the Golden Bears improve to 3-4 overall and 2-0 in CCC play while the Leopards suffer their first loss of the season, falling to 6-1 (1-1).
The hosts had an early opportunity to score as sophomore Troy Remillard (Palmer, Mass.) put a shot on net in the second minute of play, which was saved by Leopard freshman Matthew Sekerak (Winthrop, Maine). A little over three and a half minutes later Western New England would get on the board when senior Luis Agrait (South Hadley, Mass.) scored off a feed from classmate Chad Burke (Boxford, Mass.).
Wentworth responded in the 13th minute when senior Alberto Benhamu (Caracas, Venezuela) fed a ball to sophomore Michael Zendan (Charlotte, N.C.). Zendan sent a ball in the direction of freshman Noah Martins (Dartmouth, Mass.), who headed it past junior Kevin Strobel (Rockland, Mass.) to knot the game at a goal apiece.
Both teams had chances to break the tie, including when Wentworth sophomore Michael Zendan (Charlotte, N.C.) put a shot on net in the 27th minute, however the game remained tied at the break.
Wentworth took five of the first six shots in the second half, including one by senior David Cook (Waterville, Maine), which Strobel stopped just 50 seconds into the half. In the 60th minute, Sekerak stopped a scoring chance by junior Brandon Bolger (Saratoga, N.Y.) to keep the score tied and the Leopards had a pair of corner kicks they would not convert on.
Pingree netted the eventual game winner off passes from sophomores Maurice Young (Walpole, Mass.) and Connor Rubin (Guilderland, N.Y.) in the 65th minute of play. Western New England had a pair of chances to increase its lead, however Sekerak stopped both bids.
With just under a minute remaining, the Leopards had two chances to tie the contest, however junior Alec Watkinson's (Merrimack, N.H.) shot was saved and the rebound by sophomore Chris Goncalves (Easton, Mass.) was blocked.
Each keeper made six saves on the afternoon while Wentworth had the edge in shots (19-14) and corner kicks (7-2).
Wentworth hosts UMass Boston on Tuesday night while Western New England hosts Wesleyan on Wednesday.
