Worcester State Hands Men's Soccer First Loss in 2-1 Final

THE BASICS 

Score: 
Emmanuel, 1 – Worcester State, 2

Records: 
Emmanuel College Saints (2-1-1)
Worcester State Univ. Lancers (2-1-1)

Location: Worcester, Mass. – Coughlin Field

Date: Saturday, September 10, 2022

THE LEAD – Worcester State University scored a pair of unanswered goals erasing a one-goal deficit to post a 2-1 home win over Emmanuel College on Saturday afternoon in men's soccer action at Coughlin Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Emmanuel struck first in the 29^th minute as sophomore Joey Soucy (Attleboro, Mass.) scored for the second straight match to lift the visitors ahead, 1-0, midway through the opening stanza.
• The Lancers wasted little time to even the score by taking advantage of a failed Emmanuel clear. Sophomore midfielder Waseem Mahmoud (Worcester, Mass.) intercepted a pass and played a quick ball over the Saints back line to find senior Kristi Shore (Korce, Albania) on the run. Shore let the ball take one big bounce before one-timing a bullet into the lower left hand corner of the net for the equalizer to make it 1-1 with 11:23 remaining in the opening stanza.
• Both squads finished the first half with six shot attempts and one corner each.
• Over the first 25 minutes of the second half, Emmanuel put the pressure on the hosts with eight shot attempts landing five on frame that were all denied by WSU junior keeper Dylan Ruberti (Westborough, Mass.) to keep the contest all-square.
• The hosts took the lead in the 73^rd minute when junior midfielder Manny Ramirez (Waltham, Mass.) sent a corner kick into the Saints box that found the head of junior back Matt Alzamora (Holden, Mass.). Unmarked, the centerback made a sharp run towards goal and deposited home his first goal of the campaign to put the hosts ahead, 2-1.
• The Saints weren't able to mount a comeback as the Lancers backline held them at bay over the final 17 minutes of play to hold on for the one-goal come-from-behind victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• EC finished the match outshooting Worcester State by a 17-9 margin and also owned a 4-2 advantage in corners.
• The last time the Saints were outshot and lost was back on October 27, 2021 when they held a 26-4 margin over Regis College in a 1-0 defeat.
• Ruberti picked up the win for WSU making a season-high 10 saves to improve to 1-0-1 this season in net.
• Graduate goalie Vincent Conelli (West Hartford, Conn.) suffered the loss for Emmanuel making six stops to fall to 2-1-1 on the year.

UP NEXT

• The Saints open up Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Wednesday, Sept. 14 playing host to Johnson & Wales University in Boston at 7:00 PM at Roberto Clemente Field.
• Worcester State returns to the pitch the same night, hosting UMass Boston in non-conference play scheduled to begin at 7:00 PM.