Weekly sports update: Results from September 20th to 26th

by Geoff Hassard - Sports Information Director

Men's Soccer (3-1-2)

newspeak staff photo / ed cameron

Last Wednesday, the Men's Soccer team came from behind in the second half of their game against MIT to end the game with a tie, 2-2.

The men's soccer team had a busy week with three games. Although they did not win a game, they did have many opportunities, but were denied by outstanding goalkeeping by the opposition.

On the 20th, WPI played in the make-up of the postponed Worcester City championship game against Assumption. WPI had a halftime lead of 1-0 on a goal by senior Jim Goodreau (Ludlow, MA). At the start of the second half, Assumption came out strong and capitalized on a couple of WPI errors in their own end to put two goals behind goalkeeper Matt Woodcock (Orange, MA). For the rest of the game WPI had control, but couldn't get one past the opposition to tie.

Last Monday WPI stayed in Worcester County to play Anna Maria. In a game where WPI had the better scoring opportunities, the game ended up a tie at 3-3. Scoring for WPI were Chris Prueher (Ellington, CT), Shaun McDonough (Whitman, MA) and Doug Brown (Grafton, MA). Prueher, along with Eric Langlois (Canton, MA) and Mark Socha (E. Longmeadow, MA) each had an assist.

Two nights later WPI was back home to face MIT in a Constitution Athletic Conference game. MIT came in with a much improved squad and was looking to steal one away from the home team. In the beginning, it looked like MIT would come out on top as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead. With about seven minutes left in the half WPI set up for a corner kick. In the ensuing action that followed, an MIT defender was called for a deliberate hand ball violation in the goal area. This led to an automatic red card fro the offender and a penalty kick for WPI. McDonough would take, and make, the penalty kick to cut the lead in half going into the break. In the second half there were opportunities for both teams, but the goalkeepers came up big. It wasn't until late that Langlois set up McDonough for the tying goal. The game went into overtime and came out as a 2-2 tie.

Football (1-2)

The football team returned to Alumni Field for their homecoming game against Union on the 21st. WPI was hoping to recreate some of the magic from last year's homecoming contest when they defeated favored RPI. Union took a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter after hitting a 23-yard field goal. WPI would tie the game with 50 seconds remaining in the same quarter on a Greg Amiro (Chelmsford, MA) field goal from 37 yards out. Union would add another score before the half to take a 10-3 lead into the break. Union increased their lead to 24-3 on scores in the third and fourth quarters before WPI cut the lead down to 24-10. Sophomore quarterback Richard Boardman (Merrimack, NH) threw his first touchdown pass of his career at WPI when he hooked up with Josh Hines (Mansfield, MA) on a 21-yard strike. Running back Mike Godfrey (Holliston, MA) and senior captain Matt Barrows (Glen Falls, NY) were the recipients of the Pritchard Award which goes to the outstanding back and lineman in the homecoming game. Barrows had 13 tackles, two for a loss and two quarterback sacks. Godfrey had 99 yards rushing on the day. Barrows' performance got him on the Freedom Football Conference weekly honor roll.

Field Hockey (3-4)

The field hockey team is beginning to come on as the younger players gain more experience. Last week, in two games, they won one and lost one, but the positive is that all their goals were scored by freshman. On Saturday the 21st WPI was at Westfield State to play the Owls on their turf. Unfortunately, WPI came out on the short end of a 5-1 score. The only goal was scored by Brooke Clark (Jefferson, MA) on a penalty corner and was assisted by Heather Bryer (Warwick, RI) and Jade Gaudreau (Rehoboth, MA). Last Monday, the team was home to face Salem State who was just opening the season. WPI gave them a not so friendly welcome to 1996 by beating them 5-0. Clark led the way for WPI as she netted her first collegiate hat-trick. The other two goals were scored by classmates Marissa Mertzic (Barre,MA) and Lindsay Voss (N. Brookfield, MA). Merizic also assited on two of the goals and Bryer, Gaudreau and Jessica Cram (Turner, ME) each had one assist. Goalkeepers Alyssa Schlichting (Merrimack, NH) and Deb Vandeburgh (Walpole, MA) shared the shutout with Vandeburgh picking up the win for WPI.

Women's Soccer (3-3)

The women's soccer team entered last week looking to rebound from a couple of set backs from the week before to two strong squads. They hosted Anna Maria on the 24th with the hopes of getting back on the winning track. The squad did not disappoint the good-sized crowd in the stands as they beat the -more- Amcats 1-0. Freshman Jamie Szafarowicz (Oakham, MA), who has already set the school record for goals and points in a season, scored the lone goal for WPI in the win. Senior goalkeeper, Lynn Kearnan (Medway, MA), made six saves in picking up the win.

Women's Tennis (1-3)

The women's tennis team was busy last week due to cancellations and postponements. They played three matches against Wheaton, Clark and UMass-Dartmouth. They dropped all three by scores of 0-9, 3-6 and 2-7 respectively. In the Clark match, winners for WPI Kathy Sheehan (Warwick, RI) at #5 singles and Ashley Deliso (Sutton, MA) at #6 singles. Sheehan then teamed up with Paula Silva (Wakefield, MA) at #3 doubles to pick up a point. In the match against UMass-Dartmouth two of our doubles teams were victorious. The duo of Deliso and captain Michelle Lafond (Exeter, RI) won at #2 doubles and then Sheehan teamed up with Leanna DelGrosso (Euclid, OH) to win at #3 doubles.

Volleyball (5-4)

The volleyball team played three matches, winning one, over the last week. They dropped matches against Wellesley and Clark, while picking up a win over UMass-Boston in a five-game match. The scores versus Wellesley were 0-15, 3-15 and 2-15. Against Clark the scores read 8-15, 15-11, 8-15 and 10-15. Against Umass the games went 15-6, 5-15, 15-11, 2-15 and 15-13.

Golf (1-2)

The golf team got another fine day last Wednesday to play their match against Suffolk, Brandeis and Babson. WPI shot a respectable score, but could only manage to beat Suffolk. Babson shot a 410, Brandeis a 455, Suffolk a 489 while WPI came in at 466. Leading the way for WPI were Haig Altoonian (Medfield, MA) and James Carlson (Whethersfield, CT) who both shot an 86. Right behind them with an 87 was Ty Johnson (Keene, NH).

Women's Soccer

newspeak staff photo / ed cameron

The Women's Soccer team faced off against Anna Maria College last Tuesday night, and came out with a 1-0 victory. The winning goal was scored by Jamie Szafarowicz, a New 8 Player of the Week.