BOSTON, Mass. – Junior forward Elliott Richmond (Amherst, Mass.) scored the game's only goal, coming with 5:36 remaining in regulation as the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's soccer team advanced to the championship game of the 2009 ECAC Division III New England Men's Soccer Tournament with a 1-0 win over Anna Maria.
The top-seeded and host Leopards came out firing, putting a pair of shots on goal in the opening 2:19 and had a third deflected out of bounds by a defender. However, junior keeper Eric Perkins (Peabody, Mass.) came up with a pair of saves and added a third at the 2:59 mark.
Wentworth continued to carry play, taking an early, 8-0 shot advantage and holding the AMCATS without a shot for the first 20:20. However, the Leopards were unable to find the back of the net. At the end of the first half Wentworth held a 15-2 shot advantage and an 8-1 corner advantage.
The Leopards came out of the break the same way they went into it and had four early shots, none of which were on target. Anna Maria had a chance to go ahead in the 72nd minute but a header was saved by junior keeper Brian Pearsall (Sanford, Maine).
Sophomore Patrick Platner (Northford, Conn.) converted a throw-in to Richmond, who would take a shot from 25 yards out. Perkins made the initial save, but the ball deflected off of him into the back of the net.
Anna Maria had one final attempt, but a shot in the waning seconds of the game went left of the goal.
Pearsall made three saves to pick up his sixth shutout of the season. Perkins made six saves for the AMCATS. Wentworth held a 23-7 shot advantage and a 13-1 advantage on corner kicks.
With the win Wentworth improves to 14-8 and will play for the ECAC Championship tomorrow, marking the second time in three seasons the Leopards have advanced to the title game. Anna Maria sees its season end at 11-9.