Men's Soccer, Mass Maritime Draw Tie In Scoreless Affair

Worcester, MA --- Worcester State and Mass Maritime drew to a scoreless tie in MASCAC men's soccer action this afternoon at Coughlin Field.

With the result, the Lancers move to 4-6-1 (1-2-1 MASCAC), while the Buccaneers even out to 5-5-1 (2-1-1 MASCAC) and remain ahead of Worcester State in the conference standings.

Scoring opportunities were few and far between on a cool and damp evening which saw both sides struggle with ball possession in a defensive-minded affair.

The best chance of the night came in the 75th minute when Worcester State freshman Eric Davis (Hudson, MA) fired a shot from the right side of the box past the goalkeeper that rung off the left post and was quickly cleared from further danger by the Buccaneer defense.

Davis had another look early in the second half, this time on the left side of the net, when he found space alone with the keeper, but misconnected with the shot and sailed the ball high over the crossbar to end the threat.

Mass Maritime came out of the gate applying a lot of pressure on the Lancer defense.

The Buccaneers had a pair of looks in the opening minute of the contest, one by freshman Chris Beaulieu (Carver, MA) who sent a shot in from just outside the box that missed wide left. The other shot, by senior Rob Robbs (Braintree, MA), came through like a missile past a wall of Worcester State defenders that senior goalkeeper Emil Dedo (Worcester, MA/Doherty) had to secure.

The Blue and Gold had a pair of chances shortly after, both on headers by senior Kyle Venne (Ludlow, MA).

In the fifth minute of the game, Venne used his frame to jump over Buccaneer defenders to claim a corner kick from freshman Joshua Evans (Springfield, MA/Sabis). However, his bid was turned away from Mass Maritime sophomore goalie Joe Cohen (Plymouth, MA).

Eight minutes later, Venne was once again denied a goal from Cohen when he headed Evans' free kick toward the net.

The Buccaneers were on the door step in the 72nd minute when freshman Tim Paz (Baltic, CT) intercepted an attempted Lancer clearing and fired a low blast toward the net, however, he missed the left post by inches.

Much like regulation, the overtime was an evenly fought affair which had both sides scrounging for opportunities.

The shot total in extra time was even at three apiece with Mass Maritime holding a slight edge on shots on net, 2-1.

Dent nearly put the Lancers ahead in the 99th minute when he headed a shot toward net that sailed just right of the goal.

Mass Maritime pushed a pair of shots at Dedo but were denied on both attempts.

The Lancers gave a last ditch effort in the waning moments of the second overtime. Sophomore Steven Julius (Ashby, MA) had the best chance in the stanza when he found space on the left side of the box. However, his shot sailed over the net.

Julius had another look from the left side of the box that made its way to goal, but Cohen was there to deny any late second heroics.

Worcester State held an advantage in shots (15-11) and corner kicks (8-1), but the Buccaneers maintained a slight edge on shots on goal, 5-4.

Dedo and Cohen each recorded a shutout in a defensive, physical contest that saw 37 total fouls and three yellow cards.

Mass Maritime gets back to work this Tuesday when they host Brandeis at 7:00 PM. The Lancers continue their non-league slate on Wednesday at home against Western New England at the same time.

Story By Michael Corso '12 - Sports Information Intern