Springfield, Mass. (September 8, 2024) – The men's soccer team hosted the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Engineers on Sunday afternoon. The teams would fight through a scoreless first half of play. Jonah Gurion scored for the Engineers in the 53rd minute to open the scoring. Aidan Hallinan would double the lead late in the game. Tyler Lewis would net a third goal in two games for the Golden Bears. However, it was a case of too little, too late, for WNE as they would fall to MIT, 2-1.

Records:

• Western New England: 2-2-1 (0-0-0)
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology: 3-1-0 (0-0-0)

How it Happened:

The Sunday afternoon game started with Braylon Casinghino in the net for the Golden Bears and Hernando Ardila in net for the Engineers. The Golden Bears would kick off the game; however, it was the Engineers maintaining most of the possession. Aidan Hallinan had the first shot on goal with a shot saved by Casinghino. The Engineers would have the next three shots of the game. However, none of them were on net. Tyler Lewis tested Ardila with the first shot on goal for the Golden Bears. The teams exchanged a shot each over the next few minutes. There were two shots on goal from the Engineers in the 22nd minute. Ethan Reich and Jack Minor both made Casinghino make saves. The majority of the time after that saw back-and-forth action with some opportunities that did not result in shots. Only one shot occurred after the 22nd minute. It was Shikhar Motupally having a shot get blocked by the WNE defense. After the back-and-forth action, the first half would end tied at zero. The first half stat line saw MIT leading in shots 8-2, shots on goal 3-1, and fouls 4-2. The Golden Bears led in saves 3-1 and corner kicks 3-2.

The second half saw MIT kick-off, and the Golden Bears battled early. They would win some battles and see themselves get the first shot of the second half. It would go high and wide of the net, though. After a WNE corner kick, MIT had a counterattack, which resulted in Shikhar Motupally taking the ball towards the goal on the right side of the pitch. Motupally would thread a pass across the face of the goal to Jonah Gurion, who sent the ball crashing into the back of the net. The Engineers had the 1-0 lead. The Golden Bears tried to answer with pressure after the goal. They had two shots go over the net. Tyler Lewis then had two shots blocked by the Engineers' defense. MIT would answer, though. Motupally had a shot saved by Casinghino in the 60th minute. That was followed by a WNE shot going wide and some back-and-forth play. Then, Tyler Lewis had a shot saved by Ardila in the top-left corner of the goal. The Golden Bears were building momentum. They had three shots in a row after that. However, none made Ardila make a save. Then, Motupally tested Casinghino with another shot on goal. Casinghino was there for the save. The Golden Bears responded with a shot wide of the net. Then, in the 78th and 83rd minutes, there were shots from Motupally and Hallinan that were saved by Casinghino.

Unfortunately for the Golden Bears, MIT would strike again later in the 83rd minute. Aidan Hallinan would secure the ball in front of the net and send it past the goalkeeper to double the MIT lead. The score was 2-0. The Golden Bears did not drop their heads. They pressed forward, and it resulted in Tyler Lewis making a few moves at the top of the penalty box. Lewis then sent a shot into the back of the net to cut the Engineer lead in half. The score was 2-1 in the 85th minute. Sam Riley had a shot in the 88th minute. However, the header shot was saved by Ardila. That was the final opportunity for the Golden Bears. Jonah Gurion had a shot go over the net, and the game ended with the Golden Bears losing to the Engineers, 2-1. The final stat line showed MIT leading in shots on goal 9-4 and fouls 10-7. Both teams had fifteen shots. The Golden Bears had more saves, 7-3, and corner kicks, 8-3.

Head coach Devin O'Neill was interviewed after the game. O'Neill was asked about the late WNE goal, which cut the deficit to 2-1, and what O'Neill attributed the goal to. "Credit to the character of our kids. It was a gut punch to go down 2-0. There were moments in the second half where we played quite well," stated O'Neill. "Their (MIT) technical speed and quality to break pressure and play out of the back was impressive. So at two, nothing down, I just asked the guys to finish the game, and they (WNE) certainly did, and we pulled one back. That made the last five minutes exciting. I'm very impressed with that. That's really important. That speaks to our personality, speaks to our character, and it's exciting. Obviously, you don't want to lose, and they're (the WNE men's soccer team players) down, but there were many good things today. Credit to MIT; really, really good team. I think we got a little bit better today." O'Neill was then asked what the message would be after the loss before the team takes on Union College in three days. "It's always been just try to get better every day. We're better now than when we started on August 16," O'Neill mentioned. "I think we are headed in a positive direction. We got a slew of tough games. Every game is tough, whether it's non-conference or conference, so we just got to take them one at a time."

Inside the Lines:

• The Engineers visited the Golden Bears in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Sunday.
• Jonah Gurion opened the scoring with a goal in the 53rd minute off a centering pass from Shikhar Motupally. MIT led 1-0.
• Aidan Hallinan scored an unassisted goal in the 83rd minute to give the Engineers a 2-0 lead.
• Tyler Lewis scored in the 85th minute to cut the MIT lead in half. It was an unassisted goal, and the score was 2-1, Engineers.
• Braylon Casinghino made seven saves and let up two goals.
• Hernando Ardila made three saves and let up one goal in the MIT win.
• MIT beat WNE 2-1.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE finishes their homestand with a game on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, at 4:00 PM when they host Union College.
• MIT will take on another member of the CNE on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, at 7:00 PM when they travel to Roger Williams University.