Final Minute Goal Finds Lancers Taken Down by Gators

Worcester, MA- After a hard fought battle last Saturday, the Worcester State Men's Soccer team steps out of conference to take on the Russell- Sage College Gators. 

Final

Worcester State: 1

Sage: 2

How it Happened:

Tonight's matchup against the Sage College Gators got rolling fast, with the Gators instantly putting the Lancers under pressure with long balls over the top and deep throw-ins into the box. The Lancer defense held it down and managed to play forward, giving the Lancers a few attacking spurts in the opening few minutes. The Lancers got their first real moment of danger thanks to a chaotic scene in the Gator box and a great shot by senior Taylor Gavaletz (Dudley, MA). Minutes after, another great attack led to another shot and a corner leading to more danger in front of the Gators goal. After this, back and forth was the name of the game with both teams playing great and energetic defense, making it hard for either offense to find the back of the net. The half ended with some more last second nail-biting chances for the Lancers with a long distance shot from junior Nikola Plazinic (Covington,LA) that stirred up some danger in front of goal. 

The second half saw a lot of what the first half entailed, including many back and forth attacks with no end result. Both teams got their chances and equally defended well, including great saves by Lancers goalkeeper sophomore Tyler Gallagher (Warwick, RI), who performed great all game making lunging and diving saves. The Lancers got a spurt of chances and attacks in the middle of the half, putting a lot of pressure on the Sage defense. With 25 minutes left however, the first goal fell and it was into the back of the net of the Lancers. After the goal, the Lancers struggled to get back into the game but they eventually found their moments of brilliance, getting up the field, which foreshadowed their eventual goal to tie the game with 10 minutes left to play. After a masterclass run by junior Nick Guidi (Wilbraham, MA) served goalscorer junior Dylan Verby (South Setauket, RI) on a silver platter. What followed was intense soccer from both sides, trying to get that winning goal in. As the time ran down and tensions ran high, the Sage Gators managed to squeeze a second goal in with 1 minute left on the scoreboard. In the final 60 seconds, the Lancers threw everything at the Gators but to no avail.

What's Next:

The Lancers (5-9, 3-4) will remain out of conference for their next match when they travel to UMass-Dartmouth to take on the Corsairs at 3pm next Saturday.