Worcester State Drops Worcester City Tournament Finale to WPI

WORCESTER, Mass. – On the final day of the Worcester City Tournament, the Worcester State Lancers (1-1-1) dropped their match against tournament champions, the WPI Engineers (3-0) 4-1.

WPI topped Becker College on Friday, and then the Lancers on Sunday to clinch their 5th consecutive title in the tournament at their home field, Alumni Stadium.

WPI got off to a start early on in the game, scoring the first goal in the 11^th minute, as Kurt Naugler (Westford, Mass.) fed Matt Farrell (Groveland, Mass.) the ball inside the box, putting the Engineers up first.

About 10 minutes later, the Engineers' were dispensed a free kick from outside the box, as WPI's Chris Murray (Canton, Mass.) slammed the ball into the net.

Going into the half, the Lancers were down 2-0, and looked to come out fighting in the second. Nonetheless, the Engineer came out mighty for another two goals which were scored in the 52^nd and 59^th minute. WPI's Chris Murray latched onto his second goal of the day, while the Engineers' Nate Peterson (Mashpee, Mass.) landed his first goal of the season, making the score 4-0 WPI with 21:50 remaining.

Worcester State had a chance in the 56^th and again in the 57^th minute. Junior Noah Phelps' (Attleboro, Mass.) free kick was swatted away by WPI's goalkeeper, and sophomore Andrew Ipojuca's (Saugus, Mass.) close range header was halted by the netminder.

It wasn't until the 81^st minute that the Lancers were able to get a number up on the scoreboard. Freshman Bryan Brasil (Williamsburg, Mass.) stole the ball from the WPI's defense and was able to enter the box and score, marking his second goal of the season.

Offensively, the Lancers only had seven shots and one corner kick opportunity, while the Engineers had 16 and nine, respectively. Getting the shots fired for the Lancers were Brasil (1-3), Phelps with two, and Ipojuca and junior Tyler Church (Florence, Mass.)  with one apiece.

WPI's Connor Hoeckele (2-0) recorded the victory for the Engineers, while Worcester State's Tim Schmidt (1-1-1) received his first loss of the season. Both keepers made three saves for their respective clubs.

Next up the Lancers will be back at home for a night game against Trinity (Conn.) on Tuesday, Sep. 8 at John F. Coughlin Memorial Field.