CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (courtesy MIT sports information) –
Behind Christian Therkelsen’s game-high six points, the MIT
men’s soccer team powered to a 5-0 victory over local foe
Brandeis University in a non-conference game on Wednesday. With the
win, the Cardinal and Gray improved to 11-0-1 on the year while the
Judges’ record dipped to 6-5 overall.
Brandeis made the first charge at net with a low blast by
Ben Premo that was ultimately stopped by MIT
goalkeeper Tom Caldwell. The Judges recorded two more shots before
the Engineers made their first attack downfield. Neil Zimmerman
sent a throughball to Therkelsen who curled the ball around
Brandeis netminder Sean O’Hare for the
opening goal in the fifth minute. The Judges controlled the ball
for the next 12 minutes, tallying a trio of corner kicks and shots,
including a blistering point blank attempt by Alexander Farr that
was smothered by Caldwell.
On the ensuing attack, Therkelsen sent a low cross from the near
sideline to Zachary Kabelac who redirected the ball with the inside
of his left foot to left side of the net. The Engineers extended
their lead to 3-0 in the 25th minute when passes by Therkelsen and
Kabelac set up Peter Bojo for what proved to be the final goal of
the frame.
Brandeis continued to pressure MIT’s defense in the second
stanza. In the 55th minute, Jamie Batista split
his defenders and sent a cross to Premo whose resulting header was
just wide. On the Engineers’ next attack, a free kick by
Jason Zhu from the near sideline was punched out by O’Hare
but the ball ended up at Therkelsen’s feet and he quickly
blasted a shot into the right side of the goal.
The Judges almost ended the shutout in the 73rd minute when
Kevin Murphy’s diving header on a
Patrick Metelus corner kick was cleared off the
line at the post. MIT capped off the scoring in the 78th minute
when Max Stein-Golenbock sent a pass from Kabelac on the ground
that just hit the inside of the far post and bounced into the net.
In the 87th minute, Metelus’ strike was stopped by MIT goalie
Dylan Rankin as the ensuing rebound remained in possession of the
Judges but they could not convert the scoring opportunity.
For the game, Brandeis posted a 15-13 edge in shots and a
commanding 11-2 advantage in corner kicks, with both of MIT’s
attempts occurring during the last two minutes of play. Caldwell
collected three saves in 76 minutes of action while Rankin stopped
three shots during the final 14 minutes. O’Hare grabbed four
saves in 60 minutes before Matt Lynch closed out
the contest with two saves.
Both squads will return to conference play on Saturday, Oct. 11.
MIT will host NEWMAC foe Springfield College while Brandeis will
have a home match-up with UAA opponent Case Western Reserve
University.