BOSTON, Mass. – Junior Mark Calnan (Winchester, Mass.) netted the golden goal 57 seconds into overtime as the WPI men's soccer team edged Wentworth Institute of Technology, 2-1, in non-conference action Tuesday night on Sweeney Field.
Winners of two straight, the Engineers improve to 7-2-2 while the Leopards fall to 5-6-1. Tuesday's extra time match was the fourth straight series meeting between the two schools which has gone at least one overtime and WPI snaps a three-game (0-2-1) winless streak versus the Black & Gold.
WPI carried play in the early stages of the contest and had a pair of shots on net, both of which were saved by senior Matthew Sekerak (Winthrop, Maine). Wentworth had a bid on a header in front in the 25th minute, however, sophomore Rufus Adams (Duxbury, Mass.) came up with the save.
The hosts took a 1-0 lead at the 28:03 mark when sophomore Juan Cedeno (North Andover, Mass.) was fed a cross in front by freshman Erik Treble (Massapequa Park, N.Y.). Cedeno's shot beat Adams to the bottom left corner.
Just over 11 minutes later, junior Luke Reiniger (Rowley, Mass.) was fed a ball from freshman Erik Herrera (San Diego, Calif.). Reiniger's shot beat Sekerak to the lower left corner at 39:26.
WPI nearly went ahead in the 64th minute of play, however, the go-ahead goal was waved off due to an offsides call. While the teams combined for 16 shots in the first half, there were only seven in the second frame, one of which went on net.
A foul on the Engineers just outside the Wentworth box led to a free kick early in overtime. Off the free kick, Reiniger was able to establish possession and bring the ball into the attacking area where he found Calnan, who beat Sekerak for the game winner.
Adams finished with three saves for WPI while Sekerak had four for the Leopards. WPI had advantages in shots (17-7) and corner kicks (9-5).
Both teams are in action on Saturday. Wentworth hosts Nichols while WPI hosts Wheaton.
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