Julian Santiago
Staff Writer
The Springfield men’s soccer team came into the day riding a strong six-game winning streak, including four shutout wins in a row. The team came out of the day with a seven-game streak after defeating conference rival WPI, 4-1. Although the shutout streak came to an end today, sophomore goalie Billy Schmid played a solid game, making just one mistake.
From the first touch Springfield was in control of the game. The Pride out shot the Engineers 10 to five and controlled the time of possession as well. Strong play on the back end by senior defensemen Ryan Malone and junior Drew Sommer played a big part in the dominant win for the Pride.
In just the 16th minute of the game, senior forward Michael Fowler scored for Springfield, giving them an early lead. Shortly after well-timed substitutions by coach Steffen Siebert, the Pride scored again as Malone finished a well-placed ball by Sommer. This goal in the 20th minute proved to be all that Springfield would need behind the stellar work in net by Schmid. WPI would work their way onto the board with a 28th minute goal on an unfortunate bounce over the head of Schmid, leaving an empty net opportunity for WPI striker Chris Ciampa, which he did not miss.
The Pride took a 3-1 lead into halftime as they added a last minute goal before the break on a well-placed corner by Malone.
The second half was less explosive as Springfield controlled the ball, limiting the Engineers to two shots on net. The only goal of the second half came on a penalty shot converted by junior midfielder Tyler Allen. The penalty in the 66th minute was caused by a speedy run made by Allen, leaving the Engineer defender helpless.
The Pride’s victory puts Springfield at 11- 2 for the season, including 3- 1 in NEWMAC play. With only five games remaining before the NEWMAC Tournament, the team finds itself in good shape. WPI came into the game at a solid 9-2-1, making this conference victory an important one.
Springfield will look to extend its winning streak next Saturday on the road against conference foe Babson.