BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Alberto Benhamu (Caracas, Venezuela) and freshman Noah Martins (Dartmouth, Mass.) each scored a goal and an assist and freshman Matthew Sekerak (Winthrop, Maine) made five saves to record his sixth shutout of the season as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's soccer team defeated Curry, 3-0, in a Commonwealth Coast Conference game played on Sweeney Field.
With the win the Leopards improve to 12-4-0 overall and sit at 5-3 in CCC play while the Colonels fall to 10-7-1 (2-5-1). The win also secures Wentworth a home game in the CCC Quarterfinals on Oct. 31, marking the first time since 2009 the Black & Gold will open the postseason at home.
Both teams had chances to take the lead, including when Wentworth had back-to-back corner kicks in a span of 16 seconds, however, the game would remain scoreless. In the 41st minute, sophomore Michael Zendan (Charlotte, N.C.) ripped a shot towards Curry junior Dan Johnson (Easton, Conn.), whose tipped the ball over the crossbar. However, on the ensuing corner kick, the Leopards were unable to convert.
Wentworth took a 1-0 lead at 42:38 when Martins fed Benhamu at the top of the box. Benhamu would fire a shot that would beat Johnson to the upper left portion of the net and give the hosts a 1-0 lead at the break.
Martins tallied his team-leading fifth marker of the season at 60:19 on a feed from classmate James Morrison (New South Wales, Australia). Morrison dribbled the ball towards the box and found Martins along the right side where he deposited a shot into the net.
Senior David Cook (Waterville, Maine) rounded out the scoring at the 71:56 mark when Benhamu took a shot which was saved by Johnson. Cook collected the rebound and put home a shot to the right side.
The Leopards held a 21-13 shot advantage with 12 of Wentworth's 21 attempts going on net. Johnson made nine saves for the Colonels. Wentworth had an 11-4 edge on corner kicks, including 5-1 in the second half.
Both teams wrap up the regular season on Tuesday when Wentworth is at Eastern Nazarene and Curry hosts Western New England.
