Worcester State Deals WPI Their First Loss of the Season

WORCESTER, Mass. -  Worcester State's senior Alicia Macomber (Stoughton, MA) tallied the lone goal 30 minutes in and goalkeeper Jillian Witkowski (Leicester, MA) registered 12 saves to lift host Worcester State to a 1-0 shutout of previously undefeated WPI in a non-conference women's soccer contest played Tuesday evening. 

With the win, the Lancers improve to 3-1-1 while the Engineers, ranked 10th in the latest NSCAA NCAA Division III New England rankings, slip to 5-1.  

Macomber, the returning MASCAC Player of the Year, netted her second goal of the season when she went one-on-one with the goalie and blasted a shot from the corner from just inside 15 yards out at the 29:59 mark.  The senior forward accounted for six of the Lancer's nine shots on the day.

WPI outshot the hosts 17-8 but could not solve last week's MASCAC Player of the Week, Witkowski, who recorded her third straight clean sheet.  The senior was particularly strong in the second half, stopping eight shots, including several flurries in the opening 15 minutes.

"Jill made some huge saves for us tonight," said head coach Kevin Cumberbatch. "The defense hung tough and made things difficult for them."

The visiting Engineers saw six players notch multiple shots, including Karina Larson (Storrs, CT) with four and Emily Doherty (Shrewsbury, MA), and Julia Macleod (Medway, MA) with three apiece.  Goalkeeper Abbey Teliska (LaGrangeville, NY) made three saves in net for the Crimson and Gray, who attempted all three of the match's corner kicks.

Both teams open conference play on Saturday.  WPI begins NEWMAC play at defending champion MIT at 1pm, while the Lancers start MASCAC action at home against Mass Maritime at 11am.  

 "WPI is a quality team and this game will help prepare us for conference play" said Cumberbatch.

Release Courtesy of WPI Sports Information