QUINCY, Mass. – Sophomore Matt Cicalis (Bridgewater, Mass.) delivered his second game-winning goal of the season in the 81st minute to lift the Wentworth Institute of Technology men's soccer team past Eastern Nazarene College, 2-1, on Wednesday evening in Commonwealth Coast Conference play.
Wentworth – currently ranked 11th in the NCAA New England Regional Rankings – concludes its regular season slate of 13-4 overall and 6-3 in conference play. The Leopards will be seeded fourth in the upcoming CCC Tournament and will host Salve Regina on Saturday at a time to be determined. The Lions end their season with an 8-9-1 (0-8-1) record.
Freshman Noah Martins (Dartmouth, Mass.) located the back of the net for the second straight match and third in the last four contests at 6:08 in the opening stanza for his sixth marker of the season. Martins fired home a rebound off his initial shot, which was denied by Eastern Nazarene senior David Eddings (Endicott, N.Y.), which provided the visitors with a one-goal advantage.
Both teams would trade shots over the next few minutes before Eastern Nazarene evened the game with a free kick by junior Jacob Mason (Southport, England) at 26:22 following a Wentworth foul. The goal was Mason's fourth of the season.
Neither team would score for the remainder of the session, however, Wentworth did record a pair of shots late in the frame by senior Alberto Benhamu (Caracas, Venezuela) and sophomore Stephen Frazier (Bedford, Mass.), but neither shot sailed into the Lions' net.
Wentworth's offense highlighted the second half, tallying 10 shots, including the go-ahead goal by Cicalis at 80:07. Cicalis headed-in the game-winning goal following a feed from senior Sam Martins (Dartmouth, Mass.) that helped the visitors secure the win.
The Leopards concluded the match with 21 shots and six corners, while Eastern Nazarene tallied seven shots and one corner kick. Freshman Matthew Sekerak (Winthrop, Maine) picked up his 12th win between the pipes, turning away two shots, while Eddings finished with five saves.