WORCESTER, Mass. - Saint Joseph's College (1-0-2) dueled #8 WPI (3-0-1) to a 1-1 double-overtime stalemate in non-conference men's soccer action on Tuesday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Saint Joseph's got on the board first in the 16th minute of action. Noah Elmore (Berlin, Vt.) sent a long pass down the right side of the field to an awaiting Gus Ford (Falmouth, Maine) who stayed onsides, and beat WPI keeper Ryan Martin (Douglas, Mass.), who left his post to challenge but Ford sent a long shot past him and into the net.
Ford's goal was the first scored on the Engineers so far this fall, as WPI - ranked eighth nationally in the most recent United Soccer Coaches NCAA DIII Poll - entered tonight's action having posted clean sheets versus Framingham State (3-0), Brandeis (1-0), and Endicott (2-0).
The game between the New England Region rivals stood at a 1-0 advantage for the Monks until the 84th minute, when Matthew Biando (Duluth, Ga.) received a corner kick feed from Franco Bazzini (San Juan, P.R.) and steered a shot on frame that deflected off a defender's back and into the netting.
Midway through the second half, Colin Grant (Harvard, Mass.) helped keep the Monks' 1-0 advantage with a team save in the 69th minute of play.
TEAM STATS:
The two teams matched up fairly even, as the Monks held a slight edge in shots (13-12) and the Engineers recorded an advantage in shots on goal (3-2) and corner kicks (4-2).
THE KEEPERS:
Martin and David Walbridge (Hampden, Mass.) made one save apiece in the deadlock.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
The Monks are now 0-1-1 all-time versus the Engineers, who defeated the Royal Blue by a 1-0 score on October 21st, 2019. For St. Joe's, the setback at the hands of WPI nearly two years ago brought an end to the Monks' 65-game (59-0-6) regular-season undefeated streak, which included a string of 38-consecutive (34-0-4) home games without a loss.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's continues its four-game road swing with a huge conference matchup at Norwich University on Saturday. Kick-off is slated for 1:00 PM.
THANKS IN PART TO WPI SPORTS INFORMATION