#25 men's soccer battles to 1-1 draw with WPI

Greg Irwin '20 (Photo by Sportspix.com/Lewis Glass)
Greg Irwin '20 (Photo by Sportspix.com/Lewis Glass)

WALTHAM, Mass. – For the fifth year in a row, the Brandeis University and WPI men's soccer teams battled to overtime, and for the second time in that span, neither team was able to come away with a win as the Judges and Engineers played to a 1-1 draw on Gordon Field tonight. Brandeis, ranked #25 in Division III in the latest United Soccer Coaches national poll, moves to 3-1-1 on the season, while WPI is now 2-1-1.

The Engineers struck first on the first shot of the game. Senior Jackson Conroy found classmate Matt Mulligan on a counter-attack in the sixth minute. Mulligan chipped over the Brandeis keeper to open the scoring. The goal was Mulligan's first of the season.

Brandeis answered in the 25th minute. The ball started on the left sideline with service from senior Dylan Hennessy (New York, N.Y./Northfield Mount Herman). Junior midfielder Noah Gans (Newton, Mass./Newton South) one-touched the cross to sophomore midfielder Jared Panson (West Windsor, N.J./Pennington School), who slammed it home for his first of the season and his career.

From there, neither team was able to get much offense going during regulation. WPI owned a 15-12 edge in shots, but just 5-4 in shots on goal. The visitors had the better of the play in the overtime sessions, outshooting Brandeis, 8-0, but Judge senior Greg Irwin (Passaic, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) did well to come off his line and deny the Engineers several scoring chances. He broke up a charge by WPI senior Mark Calnan in the 94th minute right out at the edge of the 18-yard box, then made a diving save on junior Sebastian Royo in the 109th. The Engineers had two shots in the final minute of play and earned one last corner kick, but were unable to convert.

Irwin finished with seven saves, one shy of his career-best, to secure the draw. WPI's Rufus Adams had three stops for the visitors. WPI finished with a 23-12 shooting advantage. With the fifth-straight meeting that went to overtime, including the fourth that went two extra sessions, Brandeis is 2-1-2 in that stretch.

Brandeis returns to action on Saturday with a top-25 showdown at #1-ranked Tufts, the defending national champions. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. WPI is at Mass. Maritime Saturday at noon.