WPI 2, Wentworth 1
Box
Score
Boston, MA --- Sophomore forward Kristen
Garza's (Kingston, MA) first goal of the season, coming
just 35 seconds into the second half, gave WPI a 2-1 lead and
classmate Abaigeal Caras (Essex, CT) made a stop
on a free kick with less then 10 seconds remaining as the Engineers
held on to defeat Wentworth, 2-1, in a non-conference match at
Sweeney Field.
WPI jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 16:05 mark when senior
midfielder Meg Pasquali (Laconia, NH) put home a
shot to the high left side. Pasquali, who had played the
majority of her career on defense, recorded her first career
goal. With 16:29 remaining in the half, the hosts got the
equalizer when sophomore defender Brittany Boilard
(Rochdale, MA) served a cross to rookie forward Kristen
Kudlic (Feeding Hills, MA), who beat the keeper with a
header. The goal was the first the Engineers had surrendered
to the Leopards since Wentworth took a 3-2, overtime decision on
Sept. 7, 2002, a span of 498:31.
The Engineers had a pair of corner kicks in a span of 20 seconds
late in the first half, but would come up empty. After 45
minutes of play both the score and shots (5-all) would be even.
Sophomore Jackie Ciesynski (Pawtucket, RI)
would feed Garza early in the second half and she would put WPI
ahead 2-1 when she beat the keeper one on one.
Wentworth had a pair of chances in to tie the game. First,
in the 55th minute, sophomore forward Sarah
Norkiewicz (Dracut, MA) put a shot on that Caras punched
away. Then, in the 65th minute, Wentworth had a
second quality chance to knot the game at 2-all, but Kudlic's shot
from 25 yards out, which initially appeared to headed wide,
ricocheted off the far post. In the 78th minute
the Engineers had a chance to add an insurance goal, but a shot by
junior Kelsey Mawhiney (Johnston, RI) hit the
crossbar.
The Leopards kept pressure on and Caras would make a save in the
85th minute off a Norkiewicz shot. With 20 seconds
remaining, the Engineers were called for a foul. Freshman
Kirstin Nyquist (Barre, VT) took the free kick,
but Caras came up with the ball with nine seconds left to preserve
the win.
Caras made nine saves, including six in the second half, to
notch her first career win. Wentworth freshman
Katherine Matthews (Northborough, MA) made four
saves in defeat. The Leopards outshot the Engineers 14-12.
With the win WPI improves to 2-1 on the season and hosts Salem
State Saturday at 1:00pm Wentworth, which dropped its second in a
row, is idle until Wednesday when the Leopards travel to crosstown
rival Emerson for a 6:00pm kickoff.
Release Courtesy Wentworth Athletics
