WPI Stymies Men's Soccer, 2-0, in Opener

WPI 2, Worcester State 0

Box Score

Worcester, MA --- Freshman Jason Hopkins (Mendon, MA) and senior Matthew Gonsalves (Swansea, MA) each tallied goals for WPI to help propel the Engineers to a 2-0 victory this evening over Worcester State in non-conference men’s soccer action at Coughlin Stadium this evening.

WPI (1-0) out-shot the Lancers 12-3 in the first half, but could not get the ball past sophomore Evan Wilga (Dudley, MA) as he stopped eight attempts that came his way. Their best chance to score came in the 17th minute when Hopkins fired a perfect feed from senior Tommy Zajac (Merrimack, NH), but Wilga was right there to deflect the shot.

Two minutes into the second stanza the Engineers finally got onto the board when Hopkins took a cross from senior Dominic DeChiara (Kingston, MA).

Throughout the period the Lancers had several opportunities to take advantage of miscues and free kicks, but WSC only managed to get off two shots (one on goal) in the duration of the half.

Gonsalves added the second goal for the Crimson and Gray in the 80th minute when he took a cross from sophomore Michael Solano (Corning, NY).

WPI junior Paul Moan (Watertown, MA) collected one save in the shutout while his counterpart, Fred Groos (Floral Park, NY), recorded two saves in the loss. Groos and Wilga each shared equal time between the pipes this evening as they played one half apiece.

The Engineers finished with a 21-5 edge in shots while the Lancers had a 2-0 advantage in corners.

Both teams will play in tournaments over the weekend. Worcester State heads to Schenectady, New York to face RPI in the first-round of the Union Tournament at 6 PM on Friday while the Boynton Hillers will travel to Becker for a 6:30 match-up in the Worcester City Tournament on the same day.