WORCESTER, Mass. - Juniors
Juan Gomez Herrera (Brentwood, N.Y.) and
Nickolas Santana (New Haven, Conn.) scored goals, as the visiting Western Connecticut State University Wolves tied the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Engineers, 2-2, in men's soccer action this afternoon at Carr Field. WestConn, ranked No. 8 in its region, is now 3-1-3 and the Engineers move to 0-3-2. The Wolves will be back in action at home tomorrow when they host Lehman at 7 p.m.
WPI grabbed an early lead when Michael Montabana converted in the fifth minute from Nikolas Previte. The final 5:24 before intermission was wild, with each team coming up empty on penalty kicks and the Wolves equalizing just before the half. Herrera hit the post on his attempt from the spot for WestConn at 39:36. Just 38 seconds later, WPI''s Anir Aitdowd saw his bid denied by Wolves rookie goalie
Aime Ruggles (Bronx, N.Y.). Gomez Herrera atoned for the missed penalty by leveling the match with a header off a cross from sophomore forward
Jokin Martinez (Jamaica, N.Y.), finding the net with 26 seconds remaining in the half.
The Wolves took their first lead of the afternoon in the 58th minute when Santana finished a breakaway following a long through ball from Gomez Herrera. WPI pressed for the equalizer and nearly found it several times, as Montabana forced a pair of saves from Ruggles in the second half. The Engineers tied it when Cooper Biederbeck delivered a feed into the box and Eli Marden fired a low shot inside the right post to tie the match at 2-2.
WestConn was reduced to 10 players shortly afterward after a red card in the 88th minute and Montabana forcied one final save from Ruggles just before the final whistle. The Wolves finished with a 17-16 advantage in shots and held a 10-6 edge in attempts on target. Savio Ketnouvong made four saves for the Engineers, while Ruggles recorded eight stops for WestConn. WestConn earned nine of the match's 13 corners.
