Buccaneer Soccer Men Fall in Season Opener to WPI

BUZZARDS BAY — Goals by Worcester Polytechnic Institute freshman Frank Ciliberto (Spencerport, NY) and junior Matt Farrell (Groveland, MA) in the final 13:05 of action lifted the visiting Engineers to a 2-0 season-opening non-league college men’s soccer victory over the Massachusetts Maritime men’s soccer team Tuesday night at Clean Harbors Stadium.

Massachusetts Maritime Academy freshman Brendan Gawron (Braintree, MA).
MMA Athletics Photo

Ciliberto’s first collegiate goal in the game’s 77^th minute gave the Engineers (1-0) the only tally they would need, as he streaked in from the left side to break the scoreless tie. Farrell provided an insurance marker for WPI with 26 seconds remaining, as his inaugural tally of the season from 15 yards out closed out the scoring. The Engineers had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the 22^nd minute of action, as following a red card the visitors were awarded a penalty kick, but senior Kurt Naugler’s (Westford, MA) attempt went wide to keep the contest scoreless into the waning minutes of play.

Sophomore Connor Hoeckele (Granby, CT) picked up the shutout victory in goal with a pair of saves for WPI, while sophomore Mike Pruchnik (Rochester, MA) made four stops over the final 68-plus minutes of play in the setback for the host Buccaneers (0-1), including a point blank save on Ciliberto in the closing seconds of the first half and a pair of stops on Farrell 10 minutes after intermission. Junior Joe Cohen (Plymouth, MA) made three saves in the opening 21-plus minutes for Massachusetts Maritime, as WPI outshot the hosts by a 16-2 margin (10-2 on goal) and took all four corner kicks.

Both teams square off with Becker in their next scheduled non-league contests, as Massachusetts Maritime heads to Leicester tomorrow afternoon to take on the Hawks at 4:00 pm. WPI faces Becker in opening round play of the Worcester City Tournament on Friday afternoon at Worcester State’s Coughlin Field beginning at 4:00 pm.

— Story provided by Massachusetts Maritime Academy Director of Sports Information Jim Seavey. Edited by Capecod.com Sports Editor Sean Walsh. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm