WORCESTER -- Aaron Vaz (Medford, MA) netted the only goal of the match in the 10th minute to lift top-seed and host WPI to a 1-0 victory over fifth-seeded Coast Guard in a NEWMAC Men's Soccer Tournament semifinal match played on H. Carr Field at Alumni Stadium on Thursday evening.  
 
The Engineers, who sit fourth in the latest NCAA Division III Region II rankings and are receiving votes in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Top 25, advance to Saturday's tournament championship, where they host second-seeded Babson at 1pm.  The Beavers, who are the second-seeded and top-ranked team in Region II and 15th nationally in the Top 25, defeated third-seeded Wheaton 1-0 in Thursday's other semifinal.  The two teams met in WPI's last tournament final appearance in 2019.  
 
WPI is now unbeaten in its last 11 matches (8-0-3) and moves to 9-3-6 overall while Coast Guard sees its season come to an end with a 4-6-8 mark.
 
The Crimson and Gray parlayed a throw-in deep in the Coast Guard box in the lone tally of the match.  Mason Perham's (Hampden, MA) long throw into the box was collected by Vaz, who turned towards the far post and lofted the ball into the back of the net at 9:20 for his fourth goal of the season and 11th of his career.  The first half was tightly-contested as the shots were even at 7-7 and the hosts held a slight 4-3 edge in corner kicks.
 
Coast Guard saw its best scoring opportunity in the second half when Andres Villasana (Ponte Vedra Beach, FL) rocketed a shot towards the net that was redirected by WPI's keeper Ryan Martin (Douglas, MA) off the crossbar and out of harm's way. 
 
The Bears outshot the Engineers 9-5 in the second half, while WPI held a slight advantage 2-1 in corner kicks.  WPI fended off Coast Guard's lone second half corner in the final seconds to secure the victory.
    
Martin recorded six saves en route to posting his fifth shutout of 2023 and eighth of his career.  Coast Guard goalkeeper Wolfgang Pfleghar (Fairfield, CT) was credited with a pair of stops on the night. 
 
Overall, the guests outshot the Crimson and Gray 16-12, but the hosts attempted six of the match's 10 corners.  Coast Guard's Charles Fish (Little Silver, NJ) led all players with five shots while Codey Battista (Northbridge, MA) paced the hosts with four.