Dramatic Finish Not Enough as Lancers Fall to Coast Guard

Worcester, MA- After claiming two big conference wins, the Worcester State Men's Soccer team (2-3, 2-0) is back to non-conference action as they head down to the Coast Guard Academy in a bid to take down the Bears.

Final

Worcester State: 1

Coast Guard: 0

How it Happened:

This late afternoon game was kicked off by the Lancers but quickly turned into a Bears possession as Coast Guards Kai Trager got a shot off, only for it to be saved by junior Tobias Schneider (Hudson, WI). A few minutes later the Bears again got a shot on target, this time it was blocked but the danger was not squared away as the ball went out of bounds for a corner. After some more Bears possession and action, the Lancers finally got to strike when senior Brady Iovanni (Lunenburg, MA) got a shot on target in the 14th minute. After a following corner, first year Youssou Dabakh (South Kingstown, RI) got his chance on goal only to be denied and begin the back and forth tone of this match. 

A shot on net, followed up by a corner for the Bears led to them grabbing the early lead by scoring in the 17th minute. In the 33rd minute, junior SJ Aquino (Mons, Belgium) got his opportunity for a shot but was unfortunately blocked by the Bears keeper. Late in the first half, the Lancers got lucky after a three-shot attempt by the Bears had them feeling the pressure and forcing Schneider to save two and with the final attempt going wide of the cage. The Bears would hold the 1-0 lead into the second half of the action.

The second half was kicked off by the Bears, coming out strong, pressuring the Lancers right away and showing dominance throughout the first few minutes but Worcester was not going to concede any ground. The Lancers started showing some life and moving forward trying to create chances. Newly substituted Worcester keeper for the second half, junior Zach Nelson (Geneseo, IL), was forced to make a save to his low right in the 56th minute. In the 60th minute, senior Jemal Mohamud (Worcester, MA) got a shot on target, only for it to be stopped by the Bears keeper. The continuation of the half showed two-sided soccer with both teams getting up and down the field with intensity. The 80th minute saw a devastating red-card on Worcester State's junior defender Braiden Corbitt (South Kingston, RI) after a foul on a Bears player, giving them a penalty kick. The kick was heroically saved by junior keeper Zach Nelson (Geneseo, IL), keeping the deficit at just a single goal. After the penalty save, the team gained some new hope, giving it all they had in the final minutes of the game, unfortunately it just was not enough to seal a victory, with the game finishing 1-0. 

Schneider would end the day with three saves while Nelson would record two in their split game action.

What's Next:

The Lancers (2-4, 2-0) return to conference action this Friday night as they keep to the road, heading down to Mass. Maritime as they look to remain undefeated in conference action.