Men's Soccer and Mass Maritime Play to 1-1 Draw

Worcester, MA --- Worcester State and Mass Maritime played to a 1-1 double-overtime draw in MASCAC men's soccer action this afternoon at Coughlin Field.

Worcester State (1-7-2, 0-2-1 MASCAC) got off to a quick start when junior Brendan Whitson (Auburn, MA) split two defenders and found classmate Alex Wolfel (Unionville, CT) on the left side to chip in the goal five-yards out, just 2:34 into the opening frame.

Five minutes later WSU had a golden chance to grab a two goal lead when junior Kyle Venne (Ludlow, MA) put a header toward the lower left corner of the net only to find the feet of senior Adam Rabesa (Falmouth, MA) who made a fine defensive stop for the Buccaneers (6-3-2, 1-2-1 MASCAC) on the left side of the net.

Mass Maritime answered in the 18th minute when senior Derek Young (Falmouth, MA) had back-to-back scoring chances from point blank range only to be denied by WSU junior Phil Cepeda (Southbridge, MA) who made two great defensive saves.

However, third-year Hieu Nguyen (Weymouth, MA) was able to corral the second-chance rebound and put it into the back of the net to knot the score at 1-1 apiece.

The second half began as a back-and-forth effort with neither team being able to grasp the offensive advantage.

Whitson gave the Blue and Gold their best scoring chance midway through the second stanza when he was able to steal the ball around the 30-yard line and send a shot on net from the left side that was stuffed by senior net-minder Brett Young (Falmouth, MA).

Senior Tim McDonough (Framingham, MA) gave the Buccaneers their best bid to score the match-clincher in the 78th minute. McDonough found the loose ball off of a throw in, but his attempt from the right side of the box sailed high and over the net from 15 yards out.

In extra time, both defenses stiffened as neither squad was able to earn a quality shot on goal.

Young finished the game with six saves for Mass Maritime while freshman Nick Zucco (Ludlow, MA) added five stops for the Lancers.

The Bucs earned the slight edge in shots at 21-20 and WSU led in corner kicks 6-4.

Worcester State will get back in action Monday night when they head west on I-90 to face Elms at 7 PM. Mass Maritime returns home for a 7 o'clock affair on Thursday night against regionally-ranked UMass Dartmouth.

Story by John Hanna --- Sports Information Graduate Assistant