Weekly sports update - results from November 4th through 10th

by Geoff Hassard - Sports Information Director

For the past two years the final game of the regular season between the Engineers and Plymouth State has had conference and postseason implications. Saturday's game will be no different as the Panthers will probably be going to the NCAA Playoffs and WPI will be looking to make a strong case for themselves in the ECAC with a win. This past Saturday, the Engineers (5-3, 3-1) put together a total team effort for 60 minutes and defeated the Bears of Coast Guard (4-4, 2-3) 32-20. "We talked about coming out and setting the tempo of the game," Coach Kevin Morris said. He continued, "The difference in this game was that the big plays we made early were converted into touchdowns." Junior cornerback Kevin Ranucci (Warwick, RI) blocked two punts which led to two touchdowns and junior Chris Moore intercepted a pass to set up another as WPI jumped out to a quick 20-0 lead in the first eight minutes of the game and never looked back. Quarterback Tom Burns (Milford, MA) connected with senior wide receiver Dave Swedick (Johnstown, NY) (8 catches/119 yards, 3 TDs) on an 11-yard pass for the first score and then hit junior wide receiver Dan Horgan (Ashburnham, MA) for the second score. The third score was by tailback Ernie Ansah (Worcester, MA) on a four-yard run. The score remained the same until late in the second quarter when Coast Guard put together an 11-play drive that covered 83 yards, capped off by a 13-yard touchdown pass to close the score to 20-7. The Engineers were not done yet as they came right back with a touchdown pass of their own, from Burns to Swedick that covered 30 yards to move the score to 26-7 at halftime.

In the second half, Coast Guard took their first possession and drove 55 yards in 12 plays for the score to cut the WPI lead to 26-14. At the end of the third quarter, Ranucci intercepted a pass to stall a Bears drive at the WPI nine yard line. The Engineers drove 91 yards in 8 plays and Burns hit Swedick on a three-yard pass to increase the lead back to 18 points with 13 minutes still remaining. The Engineer defense kept the Bears in check until the last play of the game when they scored for the final 32-20. Coach Morris stated, "This was our best effort all year. We came up with big plays on both sides of the ball as well as on special teams and put the game away with consistency in our execution."

Ranucci was selected as the Gold Helmet winner in Division II/III as the most outstanding player last Saturday in New England. Burns (23 of 39/240 yards/4 TDs) was named to the ECAC Weekly Honor Roll for the first time this season. Swedick ended the game with eight catches for 119 yards and three touchdowns while Ansah fell short of his fifth consecutive 100 yard rushing day with 96 yards on 19 carries and one touchdown. Horgan had a career best 90 yards receiving on 10 catches and one touchdown. Other standout performances on defense were turned in by junior outside linebacker Khalid Rucker (Brooklyn, NY) who had 11 tackles, senior free safety Matt Wassel (Walpole, MA) who had 11 tackles, junior nose tackle Rich Regan (Framingham, MA) who had 11 tackles, 3 for lost yardage and senior defensive tackle Tom Dube (Jay, ME) who had 10 tackles, 3 for lost yardage.

Men's and Women's Cross Country - Men (6-2); Women (4-7-1)

The men's and women's cross country teams traveled to Albany State last Saturday to participate in the ECAC Division III Cross Country Championships. Coach Brian Savilonis was looking for both his teams to gain valuable experience that would help them in the future.

The men finished in 18th place out of 26 full teams. Sophomore Joe Danubio (Pembroke, MA) was the team's high finisher in 54th place. Also running well for the Engineers were juniors Steve Labranche (Uncasville, CT) and Ian Quinn (Hudson, NH) as well as freshman Michael Kearns (Saugus, MA).

The women finished in 21st place out of 23 full teams. The top finisher for the Engineers was captain Deb Fraser (Merrimack, NH) as she came in at 97th. Not too far behind her was sophomore Tracey Cronin (Abington, MA) at 114th place as she turned in a season best 22:31 at 5K. Running personal best times at the distance were sophomore Sylvia Puchovsky (Dudley, MA) and freshman Lydia Love (Nashville, TN).

1994 Worcester Tip-Off Tournament

Harrington Auditorium, WPI

November 18-20

Pairings

Men:

Friday, November 18, 5:30 pm

Worcester State (white) vs Nichols (dark)

Friday, November 18, 7:30 pm

WPI (white) vs Clark (dark)

Saturday, November 19, 5:30 pm

Consolation Game

Loser game 2 (white) vs Loser game 1 (dark)

Saturday, November 19,7:30 pm

Championship Game

Winner game 1 (white) vs Winner game 2 (dark)

Women:

Saturday, November 19, 1:00 pm

Clark (white) vs Nichols (dark)

Saturday, November 19, 3:00 pm

WPI (white) vs Worcester State (dark)

Sunday, November 20, 1:00 pm

Consolation Game

Loser game 1 (white) vs Loser game 2 (dark)

Sunday, November 20, 3:00 pm

Championship Game

Winner game 2 (white) vs Winner game 1 (dark)

Admission:

$3-adults $2-students

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