New London, CT --- Five different players found the back of the net as WPI posted a 5-0 victory over Coast Guard in NEWMAC women's soccer action Saturday afternoon at Nitchman Field.
The victory improves WPI to 9-5-2 overall and 6-1-2 in NEWMAC play, while Coast Guard falls to 2-7-6 overall and 0-5-4 in conference action. The Crimson and Gray remain in second place in the 12-team conference with 20 points and assured a top four seed in next month's NEWMAC Tournament and are assured at least a home match in the Quarterfinals. MIT (9-0-0) has secured the regular-season title with 27 points, while Wheaton and Salve Regina (both 6-2-1) trail WPI by just one point with 19 points apiece.
Senior Caila Scully (Merrimack, NH), senior Maeve Steckley (Irondequoit, NY), first-year Asha Comiso (West Hartford, CT), junior Abigail Johnson (Middletown, CT) and first-year Sarah Frye (Nashua, NH) each scored for the Engineers, while junior goalkeeper Ayla Verheul (Naarden, The Netherlands) made five saves to record the cleansheat. The Engineers have now recorded four consecutive shutouts, outscoring their opponents 12-0 during the stretch.
WPI opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Scully found the back of the net at 13:13. Steckley doubled the advantage at 27:00, finishing a pass from Johnson to give the Engineers a 2-0 lead. Comiso added a third goal at 33:50, converting a feed from senior Jess English (Ledyard, CT) as the Crimson and Gray carried a three-goal advantage into halftime.
The Engineers continued to build on their lead after the break. Johnson scored an unassisted goal at 56:22 to make it 4-0 before Frye capped the scoring at 61:57, finishing a pass from senior Delaney Mohl (Hopewell Junction, NY) to complete the 5-0 victory.
Verheul played all 90 minutes in goal for WPI, making five saves to earn her fourth consecutive shutout. Julia Little (Pensacola, FL) recorded 10 saves for Coast Guard.
WPI finished with a 20-13 advantage in shots and a 15-5 edge in shots on goal. The Engineers also held a 3-2 advantage in corner kicks. Steckley led WPI with seven shots, including five on goal, while Johnson recorded three shots, including two on target.
The Crimson and Gray returns to action Wednesday, hosting Smith at 6pm at H. Carr Field for its regular-season home finale. The Bears are back on the pitch the same day,
traveling to Norton to take on Wheaton at 3:30pm.
