By Tiffany Williams –
WPI got a Saturday lesson in just how thin the line is between taking a game and giving one away. The men’s soccer team protected an early goal, the field hockey team fought through overtime and a shootout, and the women’s soccer team watched a halftime advantage disappear under Salve Regina’s second-half pressure.
Two victories gave the Engineers something to celebrate, but the women’s soccer defeat supplied the sting. WPI had the lead at Reynolds Field, had a goalkeeper making 10 saves and still left with a 2-1 NEWMAC loss after surrendering the deciding goal at 84:02.
That is the cruel arithmetic of a one-goal advantage. It gives a team control of the scoreboard, but it provides precious little protection when the opponent keeps producing chances. Salve Regina finished with 28 shots, including 12 on target, and eventually turned that volume into the two goals that flipped the afternoon.
Jess English had put the Engineers in front at 34:56 with her second goal of the season. WPI carried that 1-0 edge into halftime, leaving the Seahawks with the work of finding a response and the Engineers with the responsibility of making their advantage survive.
Salve Regina delivered its response at 69:19, when Alexandra Epright scored unassisted to tie the match. Allie Gallagher then struck unassisted at 84:02, scoring her third goal of the season and leaving WPI with only the closing minutes to rescue a result.
The Engineers could not find that answer, and the numbers show how much pressure they had absorbed. Salve Regina held advantages of 28-17 in shots, 12-7 in shots on goal and 5-3 in corner kicks, giving the home team the stronger attacking totals across the board.
Ayla Verheul made 10 saves for WPI, a substantial contribution in a match decided by one goal. Her work kept the Engineers within reach, but a goalkeeper can only erase so many opportunities before the rest of the game demands an answer.
WPI did produce offense, recording 17 shots and putting seven on target. That makes this defeat more frustrating than a match in which the Engineers barely threatened, because they had opportunities to build on the opening goal and ultimately finished with only Jess English’s first-half strike.
Asha Comiso led WPI with four shots, including two on goal, while Maeve Steckley added three attempts. Sarah Frye put both of her shots on target, but Salve Regina goalkeeper Sabrina Lawless finished with six saves and helped make the Seahawks’ late lead stand.
The decisive difference was the second-half scoring. Salve Regina found an equalizer and then a winner, while WPI’s first-half breakthrough remained its only goal. Whatever promise the halftime score offered, the final result rewarded the team that converted twice after the break.
The Engineers dropped to 5-5-2 overall and 2-1-2 in NEWMAC play, while Salve Regina improved to 7-2-3 and 4-1-0. WPI returns to conference action Wednesday at Wellesley for a 3 p.m. kickoff, with another opportunity to turn attacking chances into a result that lasts.
Across the men’s soccer matchup, WPI demonstrated exactly how valuable protecting one goal can be. Nikolas Previte scored early, Savio Ketnouvong delivered four second-half saves, and the Engineers beat Clark 1-0 at H. Carr Field.
The breakthrough came at 15:53, when Michael Montabana sent a long ball forward and Nikolas Previte finished into the bottom-left corner. It was a direct contribution from both players, and it supplied the only goal WPI needed because the defense made the advantage hold.
For a team now sitting at 1-4-5 overall, that victory carries weight beyond a pleasant Saturday score. WPI also improved to 1-0-2 in NEWMAC play, joining nationally ranked Babson and MIT as the conference’s only unbeaten teams.
The overall record still leaves plenty of work to do, but the conference record gives the Engineers something concrete to defend. They have avoided a NEWMAC defeat through three league matches, and Saturday showed they could finish a conference game with a victory instead of another draw.
WPI also kept searching for a second goal, forcing Clark goalkeeper Jaime Pedraza into five saves. Michael Montabana tested him in the opening half and again in the 62nd minute, while Nikolas Previte had a header saved in the 69th minute.
Adin Pezo added two shots on target in the 77th and 79th minutes, but Jaime Pedraza stopped both. Those saves kept Clark alive and ensured that WPI’s early breakthrough remained a narrow advantage all the way to the final whistle.
That is where Savio Ketnouvong’s afternoon becomes especially significant. All four of his saves came after halftime, meaning the Engineers’ shutout depended on their goalkeeper answering the second-half threats that reached him.
WPI finished ahead 15-14 in shots, 6-4 in shots on goal and 10-4 in corner kicks. The corner advantage was sizable, but the final margin was still one goal, a reminder that territorial opportunities do not automatically create breathing room.
Michael Montabana finished with four shots, including two on target, while Nikolas Previte and Adin Pezo each put both of their attempts on goal. Owen Bergin led Clark with four shots, including one on target, as the Cougars fell to 3-5-3 overall and 1-2-1 in conference play.
The Engineers welcome Salem State on Wednesday at 4 p.m. to finish their two-game homestand. After securing this result with an early finish and a shutout, WPI has a clear standard to carry forward: create the breakthrough, keep pressing and make the defensive work count.
The field hockey team took a much longer route to its victory, and there was nothing comfortable about it. WPI battled Mount Holyoke to a 2-2 tie through two overtime periods before winning the shootout 2-1.
Sanidi Waduthanthri scored both WPI goals, with Emma Barton assisting on each. Their connection gave the Engineers the opening lead and later pulled them back from a deficit, keeping the match alive long enough for Madeline Chase to deliver the decisive shootout attempt.
WPI struck at 10:32 when Sanidi Waduthanthri converted Emma Barton’s feed. Mount Holyoke answered at 20:38 through MJ Owens, then moved ahead at 40:29 when Scout Climie scored off an assist from Diane Lee.
The third quarter put the Engineers under serious strain. Mount Holyoke recorded 10 shots and 10 penalty corners in that period, attacking with enough frequency to make WPI’s recovery far from assured.
Sanidi Waduthanthri supplied that recovery at 53:31, again finishing a pass from Emma Barton. With the Engineers trailing in the fourth quarter, the goal did more than improve an individual scoring line; it preserved their chance to leave with a conference victory.
Neither team scored during the two 10-minute overtime periods. In the shootout, Emma Barton converted for WPI and Scout Climie scored for Mount Holyoke before Madeline Chase settled the contest in the second sudden-death round.
Myles Lakin finished with nine saves for WPI, while Addie Oakes made five for the Lyons. Mount Holyoke held advantages of 26-18 in total shots, 11-7 in shots on goal and 17-8 in penalty corners, but those totals did not settle the outcome.
WPI improved to 6-6 overall and 4-1 in NEWMAC play, having won three conference games that went to overtime within the previous 15 days. Two required shootouts, making Saturday another example of the Engineers finding a victory after regulation could not separate the teams.
Those narrow wins demonstrate staying power, but they also demand considerable work. WPI had to withstand pressure, erase a fourth-quarter deficit and keep competing through overtime before the shootout finally supplied a winner.
The Engineers travel to Husson in Bangor, Maine, on Tuesday for a 4 p.m. matchup. They leave Saturday with another hard-earned conference result, while the broader WPI picture remains blunt: the men protected their lead, field hockey recovered from losing one, and women’s soccer paid for letting its advantage disappear.
