CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – In the first ever meeting between the two teams, the MIT men's soccer team, ranked No. 21 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), shut out Worcester State University, 3-0, in non-conference action on Wednesday evening at Steinbrenner Stadium.
MIT has now registered its 10th shutout of the season, one shy of the program record, which was set back in 2008. That season, the Engineers went 16-4-2, before falling to St. Lawrence, 3-2, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
MIT senior goalkeeper Jake Amereno (Commack, N.Y.) also tallied his ninth shutout in net this season for the Cardinal and Gray, which ties him with Tom Caldwell '09 (East Berlin, Pa.) who also accomplished this feat during the 2008 season, for the most in a single year in the history of MIT men's soccer.
MIT got on the board first, 7:35 into the contest. Freshman Wesley Woo (Palo Alto, Calif.) sent a corner kick into the box finding the head of classmate Logan McLaughlin (Park City, Utah). McLaughlin's initial attempt was saved by Worcester State senior net minder Tim Schmidt (Southwick, Mass.), but Engineers leading goal scorer, senior Sean Bingham (Garden City, N.Y.) headed the rebound into the upper half of the net, giving MIT the early 1-0 advantage.
The Lancers had four great scoring opportunities in the opening stanza, but couldn't capitalize on their chances. Worcester State's best chances came when freshman Bryan Brasil (Williamsburg, Mass.) was awarded a free kick at the 25 yard line with 10:58 expired on the clock, but Amereno was there to stop the attempt. Brasil then received a back of the heel no look flip from sophomore Andre Ipojuca (Amherst, Mass.) in the 14th minute, but once again the opportunity came up just short with Amereno between the pipes.
Under 20 minutes into the ball game, MIT had the chance to double its lead to 2-0 on a header by McLaughlin, but Worcester State freshman Ryan Kinsella (Wilmington, Mass.) hurled his body into the back of the net, spoiling the chance for the Engineers. The Lancers back line was all over the net, as in the 69th minute junior Noah Phelps (Attleboro, Mass.) made the stop in place of Schmidt.
The score remained close at 1-0 until the 75:11 marker of the second half. MIT junior Kareem Itani (Dallas, Texas) notched his seventh goal of the season on a double assisted pass into the box. Senior Fernando Cunha (Ormond Beach, Fla.) sent a one touch pass to sophomore Joshua Wilson (West Chester, Pa.), who in turn kicked the ball to Itani, for the Engineer's second goal of the game.
Wilson put the game out reach of the Lancers exactly ten minutes later, with his second marker of the season. Bingham crossed the ball to Wilson, who fired the ball into the lower left corner of the net, making the score 3-0 with 4:49 left to play in the game.
MIT held on for the eventual 3-0 victory, as all the Engineers had to do is keep the ball away from the Lancers attackers over the final four minutes of action.
Amereno stopped five shots, improved his record to 9-1-1 on the year, and picked up his ninth shut out of the year in net for the Engineers, while in the other crease Schmidt also made five saves as his record moved to 1-6-1 in 2015. The Cardinal and Gray outshot the Lancers by a 30-9 margin and held a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks.
MIT (10-1-1) welcomes Clark University for a conference contest on Saturday, October 17 at 1:00 p.m., while Worcester State (4-7-1) travels to Westfield State University for an 11:00 a.m. matchup the same day.
Release Courtesy of MIT Sports Information