Worcester, MA- The Worcester State Men's Soccer game returned to action Tuesday night after grabbing their first win of the season versus Fitchburg State on Saturday afternoon. The Lancers looked to continue their win streak against their cross town rivals, the Clark University Cougars.
Final: Worcester: 1 Clark: 0
The first half saw a game of midfield short passes, structure and strategy dictating the pace of action. With minimal fouls and and even fewer shots, the half was a game of placement and opportunity that neither team wanted to miss out on. Throughout the half, each team showed footwork and skill, working their way down the field, and while the teams found success in their ball handling, they were unable to turn that into a solid threat to the scoreboard. The Lancers worked their way down the field in the half with determined passion, leaving shoes and equipment in their wake as they attempted to find a path past the last line of the Cougars defense and open up the scoring, but the Clark defense quickly mitigated the Lancers attempts. Not to be out done in attacking threats, the Cougars had a few nail biter shots in the half, but senior goalkeeper Andy Ramirez (Waltham, MA) was making some beautiful finger tips saves to give the Lancer attack some room to breathe. The first score of the game appeared to be on the way to being recorded with just 13 minutes left in the half, when a well connected shot from Mauro Perez Colon at the left corner of the box began to sail towards the net, when senior Matthew Alzamora (Holden, MA) came out of seemingly nowhere to block the shot and help maintain the 0-0 status quo into the break.
The Lancers closed out the first half with four shots to the Cougars six, and were just edged out in corners with three for Clark to Worcester's two.
The second half saw more of the same for the teams, as they worked their way into the box to be stalled by a solid defensive presence to stem the tide. Through the first 20 minutes of the half, you could feel the intensity radiating off the Lancers as they stepped to every pass and pushed themselves to the limit for every play. A shot by junior Matthieu Bayonne (Springfield, MA) amped up the pressure, as a solid connection from the top of the box carried just wide of the frame. The teamwork of the Lancers was on full display as multiple challenges in the box resulted in a frustrated cougar core and a penalty that saw senior Manny Ramirez (Waltham, MA) step up to the penalty line. With calm composure, Ramirez sent the ball sailing deep right into the net to give the Lancers the 1-0 lead. The teamwork continued to see success and nearly goal number two when sophomore Wilbur Garcia (Bilboa, Spain) laid off a perfect cross to the middle to senior Luke Anu (Salem, MA), but a sliding save by the Cougar's Diego Martin preserved the 1-0 lead.
The Cougars would not take the loss easily, with just 10 minutes Clark's Anyolo Makatiani nailed a ball towards the cage, but the wind beneath got just below the ball and saw it carried over the crossbar and out of play. The final minutes found the Lancers pushing to get an insurance goal to solidify the victory as sophomore Brady Iovanni (Lunenburg, MA) went full throttle down the field to beat the charging defenders, but the shot traveled just wide into the net of the cage as the game ended with a 1-0 victory for the Lancers.
Worcester State ended the night with nine shots, while Ramirez recorded three saves in the shut out for the Lancers.
Worcester moves to (2-4-3, 1-2) and will return to action on Saturday afternoon when they host MCLA in their Pink Out Game that is sponsored by the Rosen Cancer Awareness Fund to raise awareness for cancer research, detection and funding. The game is scheduled to pass back at 3pm.