Worcester State takes it Home 44-41 on Homecoming

WORCESTER, Mass. – On a cloudy and cold afternoon, crowds of Worcester State fans gathered around John F. Coughlin Field to witness the big 44-41 win over the Western Connecticut Colonials in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play Saturday afternoon.

Worcester State started out the game with a 3-0 lead on the Colonials off a 25-yard field goal five minutes into the game. With just a minute left in the first, the Colonials would answer with a 22-yard pass from senior quarterback, Will Arndt (Sandy Hook, Conn.), as he placed the ball in senior Jason Pintkowski's (New London, Conn.) hands for the 6-3 lead. A good kick from junior Mike Killoran (W. Hartford, Conn.) put the team up by four going into the second quarter.

Early in the second quarter, senior running back, Kemani Jones (Milton, Mass.), received a pass from senior quarterback, Trevor Vasey (Cumberland, R.I.) to take the lead once again. Freshman Noah Hwang's (Brooklyn, N.Y.) kick was as success, placing the Lancers up 10-7 on the Colonials. Western Connecticut took the lead back from Worcester with eight minutes left in the second and kept the lead until five minutes into the third quarter when Worcester State tied the score at 27 on a 15-yard touchdown by freshman running back Jacob Maher (Marshfield, Mass.) and a 2-point conversion from Jones.

With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, the Lancers took the lead just eight seconds into the second quarter on a good 31-yard field goal from Hwang. They added to their lead just four minutes in, when Jones rushed for a 6-yard touchdown and Hwang pulled through with another good kick.

The Colonials took the lead on 125 yards in just five minutes of play in the fourth, making the score a tight 41-37 Western Connecticut.

With the time ticking, Worcester got the ball with about three minutes left to make a game-winning play. Maher came through again with a 31-yard catch from Vasey, and a good kick to once again be on top and stay on top for the remainder of the game. Western Connecticut had the ball with about one minute left, but Worcester's defense stopped the Colonials from the ability to get into good field goal range to keep the game rolling into overtime.

Vasey steered the way for the Lancers as he completed 20 out of 37 passes and totaled 269 yards and three touchdowns on the afternoon. Junior Derek Moore (Mendon, Mass.) led the team in receiving yards with 82, including a 50-yard catch from Vasey. Jones rushed for a game-high 130 yards out of 24 attempts. Jones tallied three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving), while Maher added in two for the team.

MASCAC Special Teams player of the Week, Hwang, had himself another perfect game as he went 2-for-2 in field goal attempts, and 4-for-4 in extra points to mark up 10 points for the Lancers.

On the defensive end for the Lancers, freshman Mike Holder (Lowell, Mass.) racked up the statistics as he had a team-high 10 tackles (six solo) while also logging 1.5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for losses. In addition, Holder added in a breakup and a quarterback hurry. A trio of Lancers – junior Shane Gleim (N. Grosvenordale, Conn.), senior Zachary Arsenault (Lancaster, Mass.), and sophomore Gaston Pastorino (Fitchburg, Mass.) - put up nine tackles.  In addition to Holder, Arsenault also added in 1.5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss. Pastorino and MASCAC Defensive Player of the Week, junior Carrick Driscoll (E. Longmeadow, Mass.), each totaled two tackles for losses along with one sack apiece.

For the Colonials, Arndt piloted the way offensively as he completed 28-40 passes for 311 yards, and marked a game-high four touchdowns. junior Michael Nicol (Wolcott, Conn.) ran the game, as he rushed for a total of 1-1 yards in 32 attempts. Nicol added in two touchdowns for Western Connecticut.

Receiving the ball for Western Connecticut,was sophomore William Andrew (Danbury, Conn.) who tallied up six receptions for 109 yards, with his longest reception being a 40-yard catch. He also recorded one touchdown for the Colonials. Senior Connor Falaguerra (Milford, Conn.) and Piontkowski  logged 8- and 51 yards with one and two touchdowns, respectively.

Defensively for the Colonials, senior Kenneth Strecker (Uncasville, Conn.) had the game-high 15 tackles (seven solo) with one interception for 20 yards. Strecker added in two breakups, while junior Bobby Durham (New Haven, Conn.) had four. Sophomore Bryan Ballenilla (Waterbury, Conn.) had the Colonial's sole sack on the afternoon.

"This was a great team win against a very good opponent," said head coach Brien Cullen. "Our young guys are really turning around and I am very pleased for the homecoming victory."

With the win, the Lancers improve to 2-5 on the season, and 2-3 in the MASCAC. The Colonials drop to .500 with a 4-4 overall record, and a 3-3 MASCAC record.

The Lancers will be back in action next week as Plymouth State hosts Worcester State for a 1:00 p.m. game on Oct. 31. The Colonials will also play next Saturday and will travel to UMass Dartmouth before closing their season out on Nov. 13 with a home game against Westfield State.