WORCESTER, Mass. – After 110 minutes of action neither the Wentworth Institute of Technology or WPI men's soccer teams could find the back of the net as the two squads played to a scoreless draw Wednesday night at Alumni Stadium.
Wentworth sees its unbeaten streak go to nine (5-0-4) as the Leopards improve to 7-2-4 on the season while Engineers stand at 7-1-3.
The first half belonged to the home team who took eight of the 10 shots and held Wentworth's offense without a shot, or shot on goal, until late in the 43rd minute. Junior Brendan Nemes (Kingston, Mass.) looked to put the Engineers on the board in the third minute when he beat the keeper; however, it was stopped by junior back Michael Zendan (Charlotte, N.C.) just inside the right post. Ten minutes later, sophomore Spencer Ralphs (Simsbury, Conn.) had a header bounce off the crossbar and left post before coming back out. Senior Matt Farrell (Groveland, Mass.) had a good look only to have his boot corralled by sophomore netminder Joe Schallmo (Norwood, Mass.) in the 21st minute of play.
Later in the half, Wentworth freshman Diego Panayotti (San Pedro Sula, Honduras) attempted to deposit a bicycle kick with four seconds left. Moments earlier, Junior Emmett Basaca (San Diego, Calif.) had his attempt scooped up by junior backstop Connor Hoeckele (Granby, Conn.).
The next 65 minutes were all Wentworth as the Leopards took all six shots, including five on goal. Panayotti led the way with a great bid in the 67th minute and added another in the first overtime session. Basaca took aim again in the 89th minute as juniors Stephen Frazier (Bedford, Mass.) and Matt Cicalis (Bridgewater, Mass.) had chances in the extra sessions.
Hoeckele ended with seven stops as Schallmo halted three to go along with Zendan's team save. Shots were even at eight apiece while the Engineers had a 7-5 advantage in corner kicks.
Both teams resume conference play on Saturday. Wentworth hosts Nichols and WPI hosts Springfield.
