WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester State University's sophomore striker Kaitlin Beluzo (East Longmeadow, Mass.) netted a hat trick to guide the Lancers to a 3-0 win over WPI, dealing the Engineers their first loss of the season in a Tuesday evening matchup.

THE BASICS

September 12, 2017
Coughlin Field
Score: Worcester State 3, WPI 0
Records: Worcester State (2-1-2) | WPI (4-1)

1^ST HALF

Following three back-to-back WPI corner kicks, Worcester State began the scoring in the 13^th minute when rookie Maddie Fong (Norton, Mass.) setup Beluzo for a shot in front of the goal, about 10-yards out in the center.  

The Lancers would double their lead in the 35^th minute when Beluzo registered her second tally of the night as she ran the ball into the box from the right side, and rocketed the ball past WPI's goaltender, Mandy St. Germain (Upton, Mass.) for the 2-0 gain.

2^ND HALF

Beluzo completed the hat trick in the 64^th minute when she turned on a defender following a throw-in and smashed the ball into the back of the net. Worcester State possessed the ball for the remainder of the second stanza, as they only allowed WPI three more shots and a corner kick, in comparison to seven Worcester shots and four Lancer corner kick opportunities.  

COUNT ME IN

• Worcester State's freshman goaltender, Jill Zinkus (Grafton, Mass.) earned her second collegiate shutout in a 5-save performance. St. Germain suffered her first loss of the season as she turned away 2-of-5 shots on goal.
• Four of Worcester State's five shots on net came from Beluzo. Nikki DiPilla (Sterling, Mass.) recorded the fifth.
• WPI's five shots on net came from Lizzie Rooney (Harvard, Mass.), Kristen Southan (Owings, Md.), Hannah Modelski (Hollis, N.H.), Sophie Gomarlo (Swanzey, N.H.), and Karina Larson (Storrs, Conn.).
• Worcester State held a 15-12 margin in shots, while each team registered five goals on net.
• The Lancers also held a 7-6 edge in corner kicks. Five of the Lancers' seven came in the second half.
• Worcester State served WPI its third loss in the last 30 matches.
• Worcester State has recorded seven wins over WPI in the past decade. Including today's contest, five of the seven wins were shutouts.

UP NEXT

Both Worcester State and WPI resume play on Thursday (Sep. 14). Worcester State heads to Becker for a 6 p.m. game, while the Engineers travel to Trinity for a 6:30 p.m. matchup.