Worcester State 5, Becker 0
Worcester, MA --- Three Worcester State teammates each notched their first career goal - highlighted by sophomore David Gustafson's (Webster, MA) five points - as the Lancers posted a 5-0 shutout this evening in non-conference men's soccer action at Coughlin Field.
WSC ends a nine-game winless streak to improve their record to 2-10-2 while the Hawks slip to 2-11-1 on the season. The last triumph for the Blue and Gold was a 2-0 victory on September 10 against St. Joes of Maine.
Worcester State started things off in the 18th minute when sophomore Julian Morales (Brighton, MA) hit a middle cross to classmate Larry Moreno (Brimfield, MA/Tantasqua) for the first marker of his career.
Despite outshooting Becker 13-4 in the opening frame, Becker kept the Lancers off the board for the rest of the period.
In the opening 14 minutes of the second stanza, Worcester State held a 4-2 edge in shots on goal before the Lancers broke down the opposing defense and they erupted for four tallies throughout the course of the rest of the contest.
The Blue and Gold scored two-minutes apart when WSC took a 2-0 lead on an own goal in the 54th minute before Gufstason netted his first collegiate tally with Kwasi Acheampong (Webster, MA) assisting on the play.
Gustafson helped build the lead to 5-0 as he registered an unassisted goal in the 64th minute and again he added the helper on the first career marker for second-year Brian Gillis (Brockton, MA) in the 89th.
Becker had a great chance to break the shutout as senior Snjezan Telebak (Chicago, IL) launched a free kick towards the Lancer net, but junior Fred Groos (Floral Park, NY) corralled the ball as it came within range.
Overall the Lancers held a 26-10 edge in shots and an 8-0 advantage in corners.
Groos turned aside five shots for Worcester State while his counterpart, senior Aaron Fill (Ladner, British Columbia), made nine stops for the Hawks. In his first career start for WSC, Groos was credited with third shutout of the year for the Lancers.
Worcester State looks to gain some momentum to stay in the hunt for the MASCAC tournament when they travel to Westfield State for a 1 PM contest on Saturday. Becker will entertain Southern Vermont at 5:30 on Saturday.