Off The Post

As we once again go Off the Post, congratulations are due WPI’s Ben Rickson, who became the first Engineer men’s soccer player in 27 years to be named an All-America when he was recognized as a Division III first team back by the United Soccer Coaches. The senior becomes just the 11th player in program history to be selected an All-America and first since Ryan Burke was selected to the second team in 1992. Rickson was the NEWMAC’s Defensive Athlete of the Year as the center back back-boned a defense that leads all of NCAA Division III in goals against average (0.452). The Engineers posted 13 shutouts in 21 contests in 2019 and had six other matches allowing just one goal. The senior proved his versatility with a pair of goals against Emerson and assists versus Worcester State and Mass Maritime. Rickson has had a busy awards season: in addition to being named to the NEWMAC’s Defensive Player of the Year, he was tabbed to the conference’s first team, drew first team All-New England honors and was selected to play in the New England Intercollegiate Soccer League (NEISL) Senior All-Star Game.

In more awards for WPI student-athletes, the duo of Shannon Hynes (Auburn High) and Abby O’Sullivan were selected All-New England East this week by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA). It marked the first time the Engineers had a pair of players named to the squads since Hall of Famers Nicole Maglione ’09 and Kelly Johnson ’10 accomplished the feat in 2006. Hynes was named to the first team after earning second team accolades a season ago. The back joins Johnson (2006 and 2009) as the only player to earn all-region honors twice since 2000 while O’Sullivan earned a second-team spot at forward. O’Sullivan was a goal-scoring machine as she traded in her second team All-NEWMAC honor last season for first team distinction in 2019. The forward led all NEWMAC players with 21 regular season goals. The junior reached the 100-point milestone during the season and posted back-to-back games where she had a hat trick in a conference victory over Wheaton and then four goals the following contest at Conn College.

For some local collegiate results of note, on Tuesday, Dec. 3 in men’s basketball, WPI got a game-high 21 points from Garrett Stephenson and never trailed as the Engineers defeated Tufts University, 72-62. The win, WPI’s seventh straight, improved their record to 8-1 on the season. Stephenson paced the Engineers with 21 points on eight-of-11 shooting from the floor to go along with six rebounds and two assists. Junior Colin McNamara chipped in with 13 points and eight boards, all on the defensive glass, while Reid Walker added 10 points. Becker junior forward Mateus Ribeiro scored a career-high 22 points with a career-high 15 rebounds as the Hawks prevailed, 69-54, over visiting Clark University in a match-up of crosstown rivals. Ribeiro shot eight-of-15 from the floor and five-of-six from the line. Sophomore guard Mekhi Chester came off the bench to score 14 points with four steals and three assists. Jamir Carr dished out five assists to complement his 13 point, six rebound performance, shooting six-of-10 from the floor. Clark junior guard Biko Gayman led the Cougars with 15 points, five assists and five steals. Sophomore guard Joel Arteaga added seven points and five rebounds while sophomore guard Zackary Mittelstadt had seven points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

In women’s basketball on Wednesday, Dec. 4, Worcester State erased an eight-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat MIT, 62-59 . With the win, Worcester State improves to 5-4 overall on the season. Lancers freshman Charlotte MacMillan led all players with 21 points. Senior Mya Mosley (Wachusett Regional) was the only other Lancer in double figures offensively, scoring 12 points off the bench for the hosts. Senior Catherine Sweeney had a strong showing at both ends of the floor, finishing with seven points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. Junior Colleen Cutting (Auburn High) hit a pair of clutch free throws with 7.6 seconds remaining to seal the deal.

Thursday, Dec. 5 saw four Hawks finishing with double-digit points as a balanced attack by Becker led to a 66-56 victory over the Anna Maria Amcats in men’s basketball. Mateus Ribeiro led the Hawks with 16 points on seven-of-10 shooting. He grabbed nine rebounds to go with five assists in a full 40-minute effort. Juniors Guney Kilitcioglu, Jamir Carr, and sophomore Mekhi Chester each scored in double-digits for Becker. Sophomore Jordan Rose-Wheatly pulled in a game and career-high 11 rebounds. For Anna Maria, Bobby Perette led all scorers with 20 points on eight-of-19 shooting. Senior Mike Rapoza (Shepherd Hill Regional) had the game’s only double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

In men’s ice hockey, Anna Maria tied with Plymouth State, 3-3. Sophomore Jack Sitzman led the AmCats with two goals. Mike Padgeon had the third Anna Maria goal, while Sam Cyr-Ledoux assisted on all three tallies. Julius Huset had 33 saves for Anna Maria.

Friday, Dec. 6 was hockey night, and in ,en’s action in Manchester, New Hampshire the Saint Anselm Hawks held off the Assumption Greyhounds, 5-3. After falling behind, 2-0, Robert Holyoke scored at the 16:45 mark of the first to bring the Greyhounds back within one by the end of the period. Liam O’Sullivan put the Hawks up, 3-1, just 40 second into the second. John Pigott brought Assumption back within one at 3-2 at the 4:58 mark but Saint Anslem scored again at the 9:40 mark to go back up by two by the period’s end. Robert Roche (Holden, Mass) pulled the Greyhounds back to within one, 4-3, just 1:08 into the third. Assumption fought hard, putting six shots on net in the period and even pressed by pulling goaltender David Zulauf, who made 23 saves on 27 shots, with 32 seconds left in the game. Ferraro scored on an empty net with nine seconds left to reach the 5-3 final.

In women’s ice hockey Kayla Currin (Hudson, Mass.) had the only goal of the game as Nichols College defeated Becker 1-0 at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center in Worcester. Jordyn McGuire and Kaci Johnson assisted on the tally. Becker freshman goalie Amber Lee had a strong performance between the pipes, tallying 28 saves. Nichols sophomore goalkeeper Stephanie Runciman recorded 21 stops on the night.

On Saturday in women’s basketball, Clark lost to Nichols as Isabella Nerney and Alexis Finnerty combined for 50 points to propel the Bisons to a 70-62 final. Cougars junior Hannah Favaloro (Douglas High) logged her fifth double-double of the season and 15th in her career, leading Clark with 16 points and tying the game-high of 12 rebounds. Hallie Johnson (Wachusett Regional) joined forces with Favaloro to record a double-double of her own, notching 12 points to go with 12 rebounds and two steals. It marked the second time this season that Johnson and Favaloro logged double-doubles in the same contest. Cam Richey (Whitinsville Christian) had a career-high seven assists in the setback while adding three steals. Nichols finished 21-of-63 from the floor (33.3 percent) while Clark shot 24-of-75 (32 percent). Becker defeated Bay Path University 68-23 in New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) action. Hawks freshman guard Kira Clinkscale led Becker with a career-high 11 points with two steals and two assists, shooting fifty percent from the floor. Senior guard Cassidy Harrison finished with nine points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Freshman guard Jamie Woods (Charlton, Mass.) came off the bench to eight points with four rebounds. Natasha Pacheco finished with six points and a team-high seven rebounds, to go along with three assists, two steals and a block. Riley Berry added seven points, five steals and three rebounds.

In men’s basketball, Clark put together its best offensive game of the season so far to pick up a non-conference victory at Framingham State as junior Biko Gayman dropped a season-best 28 points and nine assists to lead a quartet in double-figures in an 81-73 final. Gayman was nine-of-16 from the floor (56.3 percent) and four-of-six from beyond the arc (66.7 percent) for the game-high 28 points. He also added nine assists while recording five rebounds, three steals, and one block. Joel Arteaga posted his third game of ten or more points, providing support with 14 points and six rebounds while junior Charles Stevens led all bench scorers with a season-high 13 points coming on four-of-eight shooting while setting a new career-high in steals (3) and adding a block. Matthew Waggett also put together a memorable effort as the forward posted his first collegiate double-double with 12 points on a pair of three-pointers while also corralling a career-high ten rebounds.

In men’s ice hockey, Assumption earned a win against second-place SNHU, 5-1, in a Northeast-10 Conference match-up. John McDonagh scored first for the Hounds at the 10:13 mark of the first period and never trailed the rest of the way. Dante Maribitio scored on the short-hand just 3:34 later, putting the Hounds up, 2-0, by the period’s end. Tim Usalis scored Southern N.H.’s lone goal at the 10:08 of the second to pull within one at 2-1 with his first goal of the season. Michael Zampanti put the Hounds back up by two, 3-1, to end the second. The Hounds then scored two goals within the final two minutes of play and only 1:04 apart. Robert Holyoke scored first at the 18:28 mark to put his team up, 4-1. William Smith then scored an empty net, shorthanded goal at the 19:32 mark to put Assumption for his team’s fifth tally of the game. The Hounds outshot SNHU 40-26. Assumption went 0-for-6 while on the power play and the Penmen went 0-for-7. David Altman made 25 saves on 26 shots and improved to 4-1-1 on the year. Becker scored three third period goals to prevail, 5-2, over visiting Wentworth Institute of Technology in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center in Worcester. The Hawks goals were scored by Colby Audette, Jake Cagnina (shorthanded), Josh Mead, Luke James, and Andrew Dreher. Becker senior goalkeeper Cody Foster finished the day with 41 saves between the pipes to pick up the win. Anna Maria put together a six-goal second period to topple Post University, 6-3. Jack Sitzman had a hat trick for the Amcats while Michael Padgeon, Sam Cyr-Ledoux, and Patrick Manning added a goal each. Cyr-Ledoux and Maning added three assists. Julius Huset ( 4-0-2) remains perfect in net as he picks up his fourth win of the season. Huset faced a total of 37 shots and made 34 saves.

In women’s ice hockey, Becker sophomore Julia Ravenelle scored the game-tying goal and freshman Shelby Reaugh netted the eventual game-winner as the two goals in the span of 3:00 made the difference in the Hawks’ 4-2 win at Nichols in Colonial Hockey Conference play. Nikki DeCola and Cassidhe Wozniak had the other Becker goals while Mel McAleer had both Bisons goals. DeCola’s goal was the first in her collegiate career. Madelyn Morgan had 45 saves for Becker, Abby Bassett had 23 for Nichols.

On Sunday in women’s hockey, Meghan Sonia and Anna Maria College defeated the Wilkes University Colonels, 1-0, in an afternoon thriller. Both schools played strong first period and then finally 12:05 into the second period, the Amcats broke the scoreless drought. Kaitlyn Korpach sent a pass from behind the net to an open Sonia. From there, she squeaked a shot past Colonels goalie Alexa Rango for the eventual game-winner. Gabrielle Ohanesian made 29 saves on the afternoon to preserve the shutout. Ohanesian faced her most shots in the second when Wilkes peppered her with ten. Ohanesian saw just six shots in the third period including a shot by Cally Erikson with 11 seconds left but was turned away by Ohanesian to seal the 1-0 victory. It was Ohanesian’s first win of the season, and Sonia’s first collegiate goal for Anna Maria.

We’ll go Off the Post once again and begin by congratulating locals Ethan Farrah (Grafton High), Nick Ostrowski (Shepherd Hill Regional), Sebastian Royo (Algonquin Regional), Mandy St. Germain (Nipmuc Regional) and Isabelle Sillo (Wachusett Regional), who were five of the 79 WPI fall student-athletes on their respective NEWMAC Academic All-Conference teams. Honorees must have met the following criteria: earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5/4.0 scale or 4.35/5.0 scale after the 2019 spring semester, achieved second year academic status at his/her institution, and been a member of the varsity team for the entire season. Congratulations to them.

It was a thin week for collegiate sports with the Thanksgiving holiday last week, but there was still plenty to look back on, starting Monday, Nov. 25, as the Becker College men’s basketball team lost, 73-67, at Fitchburg State University. Hawks junior forward Mateus Ribeiro led Becker with a career-high 20 point night on 9-of-17 shooting. The junior also tallied nine rebounds, three assists and a steal. Sophomore guard Mekhi Chester finished with 14 points, shooting four-of-7 from behind the arc, and dishing out four assists. Guney Kilitcioglu scored 12 points on five-of-8 shooting, and Jamir Carr added six points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and one block. Collectively, Becker shot 40 percent from behind the arc.

On Tuesday, Nov. 26t in men’s basketball, Anna Maria snagged their first win of the young 2019-2020 season against Clark University. Bobby Perette continues to deliver for the Amcats this season with another 20-point game. Perette had a team-high 22 points, two rebounds and an assist. Mike Rapoza (Shepherd Hill) finished with another double-double, with 16 points and 21 rebounds. He also added three assists and two steals. Ralph Grasso (Assabet Valley Regional) also contributed 16 points, five assists and four rebounds for Anna Maria. For Clark, junior Tyler Davern (Bartlett High) logged his fourth double-double of the season with a game-high 27 points to go with 12 rebounds. Junior Biko Gayman chipped in with 18 points on four-of-seven from 3-point range while handing out a season-high eight assists.

Assumption College was edged by the Franklin Pierce University Ravens on the road. After the Hounds led by as many as 12 points in the first half, Franklin Pierce fought back to trail by just two at halftime. The Ravens went on the lead by as many as 11 in the second half before capturing the final, 86-78, victory. Malik Brown finished the night with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Matthew Kelly led the Hounds in scoring with 18 points to go along with six boards. Cal Connelly put up 13 points and Jordan White finished with 12 points for Assumption.

Garrett Stephenson posted his second double-double of the season and was joined in double figures in scoring by Reid Walker and Colin McNamara as nationally-ranked WPI went on the road and defeated Worcester State, 68-47. The Engineers, ranked 25th in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25, improve to 6-1 on the season, while the Lancers drop to 2-5 overall. Stephenson’s 18 points was enough to lead all scorers, while his 11 boards gave him his fifth career double-double. The visitors also received 15 points from Walker and a dozen from McNamara. Jake Wisniewski (West Brookfield) aided a strong WPI effort on the glass with 10 rebounds, and Kahleb Downing joined McNamara with a team-high high three assists. Chris Cardoso, Cal Howes and senior Erik Bjorn (Wachusett Regional) all scored 11 points to lead the Lancers

In women’s basketball, sophomores Ginny Benbow and Hallie Johnson (Wachusett Regional) each posted career-highs with 24 and 18 points, respectively, to lead Clark University to a 71-64 non-conference victory against Anna Maria. Clark junior Hannah Favaloro (Douglas High) picked up her fifth game this season with 10 or more rebounds, as her game-high 17 boards helped the Cougars to a 50-42 advantage on the glass. The forward also contributed 11 points on the offensive end to register her fourth double-double on the year. Amber Wilson led the Amcats in scoring with 18 points. Sienna Johnson and Franchesca Hammond (Doherty High) were the other double-digit Amcats scorers with 16 points each. It was a career high for Hammond. Hailey Moore (Wachusett Regional) added a career high 11 rebounds.

Victoria Mirecki erupted for a career-high 17 points and the WPI defense limited host Nichols to 18.1 percent shooting from the floor as the Engineers bested the Bison, 63-36. With the win, WPI ups its record to 5-2 overall, while the Bison slip to 1-5 on the season. Maddie Blake brought down a game-high eight rebounds, while piling on four assists and five points. Bailey Savage (Shepherd Hill Regional) was second on the team dropping in nine points for the Engineers while Spencer Vinson finished with eight points and seven boards. Nichols was led by junior Isabella Nerney, she poured in a team-high eight points and brought down four rebounds in the contest. Freshman Gina Parmenter (Oxford High) put up six points while Erin Cann scored her first collegiate points in 11 minutes of action.

Brianna Capacchione led Assumption to their second conference win over Franklin Pierce outscoring the Ravens, 24-17, in the fourth quarter for the victory. Capacchione led the Greyhounds with 20 points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal while Ja’Lyn Armstrong contributed 14 points and two rebounds. Anna Shaughnessy added 14 points, three rebounds, one steal and one block off the bench while Temi Falayi led Assumption with 11 rebounds.

In men’s ice hockey, three second period goals and a 42-save performance by David Altman got the Assumption Greyhounds a 3-2 win over the Fitchburg State Falcons. Robert Holyoke, John Pigott and Sean O’Connell were the goal scorers for Assumption, while Dean Zerby and Hunter Fortin scored for Fitchburg State. Christopher Mattone stopped 31 shots for the Falcons.

Anna Maria downed Worcester State at the Worcester Ice Center, 6-2. The Amcats first three goals came in succession to open the first period from Sam Cyr-Ledoux, Nick Kukuris, and Jack Sitzman. Nick Pennucci (Worcester, Mass.) grabbed one for the Lancers at 19:59 of the frame. Anna Maria tacked on two more in the second to go up, 5-1, with the first goal going for Kukuris’ second of the contest on a power play. The second came off the stick of Gavin Proeh just over seven minutes into the period. Worcester State scored their second goal with just one second remaining in the period, that goal was credited to Brendan Ronan. The Amcats put in last puck in the net in the third to get the final of 6-2 when Michael Padgeon scored on a power play.

In post-Thanksgiving action in women’s ice hockey on Friday, Nov. 29, three different Amcats scored on the night, but it was not enough as the Chatham University Cougars defeated Anna Maria College, 4-3. The Amcats continued their goal-scoring ways from last week when Sophia Zimmerman tallied her second goal of the year at 7:27. Chatham turned the puck over in their face-off zone and Zimmerman out-skated the Cougars defender and put her shot past Katy Reed’s right side for the quick, 1-0, advantage. Chatham answered back nine minutes later at 16:06, but McKenna Naumchik gave Anna Maria the lead back five minutes into the period after she collected a pass from Abigail Vigliotte for the 2-1 lead. The Cougars answered back quickly just over a minute later, then Grace Dodge gave the Amcats their final lead of the game after she put home a pass from Naumchik and Annabelle Austin for the 3-2 lead to end the period. Dodge’s goal was the first of her collegiate career. Chatham then scored two in the third for the 4-3 victory. Julia Smith earned the start between the pipes and collected 34 saves on 38 shots.

On Saturday, junior forward Reid Walker nearly notched his first career triple-double on Saturday afternoon at Harrington Auditorium, amassing 21 points, tying a career-high with 12 rebounds and setting a new personal best with eight assists in WPI’s men’s basketball 89-74 victory over Fitchburg State. Big man Garrett Stephenson shot 8-for-11 from the field en route to 17 points and seven rebounds, while Jake Wisniewski (West Brookfield, MA) came up just shy of a double-double with eight points and a team-high 12 boards. Jordan Jones (Doherty High) led the Falcons with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

In women’s ice hockey Anna Maria scored the final two goals in their rematch with the Chatham University Cougars, but still ended up on the wrong end of a 4-2 final. Down 4-0, the AMCATS knocked the lead down to three after Jacqueline Howlett found the back of the net at 9:02 in the third. Chatham had tried to clear the puck out of their zone, but Howlett intercepted the puck and sent her shot past Devon Strachan stick side for the squad’s first goal. Howlett’s goal was the first of her collegiate career. Down 4-1 with 10:35 left, Abigail Vigliotte cut the deficit in half after she received a great pass by Meghan Sonia and put her shot past Strachan to make it the eventual 4-2 final.

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Once again we go Off the Post, and with all the local press being given to Holy Cross football for winning their seventh Patriot League championship and earning an automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA football championship subdivision playoffs, we’ll instead focus on sending congratulations to WPI for having their best season in program history by defeating Western Connecticut, 35-6 in a New England Bowl Series game.

The Engineers finish their 2019 campaign with a program-best 10 wins, surpassing the nine wins from 2017, a year in which they also won the New England Bowl Series game, and 1992. With a 3-yard rush late in the first quarter McAllen surpassed Jason Wooley, who amassed 3,766 yards in his four-year career, as the all-time leading rusher in WPI’s 130-year history. McAllen closes his illustrious career with 3,878 ground yards.

One thing we like to do here on Off the Post is talk about some of the college student-athletes and sports that don’t get a lot of coverage, and Anna Maria College’s equestrian team fits the bill. They competed at the University of Rhode Island (URI) and Assumption College shows the past two weeks, and had strong showings at each. Isabelle Smith (Shrewsbury) paced the Amcats as she qualified for regionals in 2020. At the URI Show Gina Houghton (Bay Path Regional) led Anna Maria with two third-place finishes in the flat and fences events. Smith also tied Houghton for third in on the flat, and Gina Carbone was right behind them in fourth place. Other notable finishes on the day for Anna Maria included Katie Barnes (West Brookfield) and Grace Bond tying for sixth place finishes in the on the flat event.

At the Assumption College Show, Jocelyn Trifiro (Mahar Regional) led the day for the squad with a first-place finish in on the flat event. Several other Amcats rounded out the placing for on the flat: Smith (second), Bond (third), Carbone (third), and Houghton (reserve). Trifiro also saw a fifth-place finish in the over fences event. The Amcats’ equestrian fall season comes to an end, and they will begin their spring season Saturday, Feb. 29 when they travel to the Community Show at the Mystic Valley Hunt Club in Gales Ferry, Connecticut.

In other local college sports, on Tuesday, Nov. 19 in men’s basketball, Clark University notched its second win of the season as the Cougars erased a 13-point deficit before withstanding a fiery comeback attempt to defeat Regis College, 78-76. For the fourth consecutive game, junior Tyler Davern (Bartlett High) paced the Cougars in points, posting a game-high 25 to lead the offense. He recorded his third consecutive double-double collecting a game-high 13 rebounds. Biko Gayman shot six-of-eight from the field for 15 points, while dishing out six assists. Joel Arteaga added a season-high 12 points to go with six assists and seven rebounds. Antonio Lapeyrolerie logged a season-high 12 points off the bench. WPI saw four players record double figures, including a career-high 21 points from Dakota Wheeler, as the Engineers ran away with a 91-50 victory over Salem State University. Colin McNamara (16), Kahleb Downing (14), and Jake Wisniewski (12) were the other WPI players with double digit points. WPI shot 54 percent from the floor in the game including 45 percent from behind the arc, while Salem shot just 35 percent and 21 percent from behind the arc.

In women’s basketball, four different Amcats scored in double figures as Anna Maria topped the Lesley Lynx, 66-25. Sienna Johnson led all Anna Maria scorers with 18 points to go along with two rebounds, and three steals. Alexis Levels also contributed 15 points and eight boards with three steals. Ashley Rufo and Sierra Johnson also produced double figures in the scoring column with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

In men’s ice hockey, Anna Maria improved their record to 4-1-2 after a 2-1 win against Southern Maine University. The Amcats started the scoring off with just 3:45 left in the first period when Will McGoughran forced a Huskie turnover and found an open Gavin Proeh, who passed the puck to a streaking Sam Cyr-Ledoux for the finish. The Huskies then tied it with 2:51 left in the first. With 13:50 left to play in the third Jack Sitzman stole the puck away and got a one on one with the Husky tender. Sitzman made a few puck handling moves to then sneak the puck past his outstretched skate to the left for the game winner. Julius Huset (W, 2-0-1) saved 26 of the 27 shots that he faced.

On Wednesday, Nov. 20 in men’s basketball, Worcester State defeated Dean College, 87-63. A D’Caran Anderson bucket gave the Bulldogs a 7-1 lead just 1:37 into the contest, but it would be all Lancers from there. Worcester State went on a 16-4 run over the next three minutes to take a 17-11 lead. By the half, Worcester State had extended its lead to 48-22. Senior Tyler Dion (Wachusett Regional) led all scorers with 13 first half points, while junior Erik Bjorn (Wachusett Regional), sophomore Corey Olivier and junior Chris Cardoso all scored eight. For the game Dion scored 21 points to lead all players, while Bjorn had an impressive 14-point, 15-board double-double. Cardoso knocked down 18 points in the victory.

Thursday, November 21st saw WPI’s Spencer Vinson posting a double-double of 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds as the Engineers knocked off host Fitchburg State 62-41 in Women’s basketball. Vinson was 7-for-14 from the field while 10 of her boards were on the defensive side. The senior was joined in double figures in scoring by Lisa Cristiano and Melanie Presseau, who registered 16 and 12 points, respectively. Bailey Savage (Shepherd Hill Regional) aided the effort by sharing for the game-high in assists with three and adding seven points while Maddie Blake grabbed six boards. In a dominant team game where every Anna Maria player scored, the Amcats defeated the Bay Path University Wildcats, 78-42. Amber Wilson led all scorers with 16 points, Sierra Johnson and Ashley Rufo rounded out the double-digit scorers with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Hailey Moore (Wachusett Regional) season-high 10 rebounds as she helped Anna Maria out-rebound Bay Path, 42-28.

In men’s soccer on Friday, Nov. 22, Assumption College’s Kevin Hernandez scored the game-winning goal on a rocketed shot from inside the box as the Greyhounds defeated the West Chester Golden Rams, 2-1, in the second overtime to claim the program’s first ever NCAA tournament win in its first-ever NCAA tournament game. Hernandez, who scored both goals for the Hounds, scored with just 4:41 left in overtime. Hernandez had also put his team up, 1-0, just 9:46 into the contest. Sebastian Jimenez made four saves and improved to 13-7-0 on the year. The win moves Jimenez into sole possession of third-place in most wins in a career in program history. He also holds first-place in wins in one season, minutes in one season and games in one season.

In men’s basketball, WPI big man Garrett Stephenson was scorching hot from the field, scoring a career-high 26 points as the Engineers led Eastern Nazarene wire-to-wire in an 83-69 victory in the semifinals of the Paula Titus Memorial Tournament. Stephenson shot 10-for-13 overall, but carried the load for the Engineers in the second half, hitting all six of his field goal attempts and going six-of-seven from the line to score 18 points after the break and prevent a Lions comeback. Dakota Wheeler went three-for-four from beyond the arc as he chipped in 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Jake Wisniewski (West Brookfield) matched him with seven boards, including four on the offensive glass, while Logan O’Donnell reeled in six rebounds in just nine minutes.

In men’s ice, hockey Becker College picked up their first Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) win of the season with a resounding 4-1 victory over visiting Western New England University at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center in Worcester. Jason Diamond had a natural hat trick for the Hawks, scoring the final three goals of the contest. Freshman forward Ian Zaleski tied the game, 1-1, for Becker with a second-period strike. Goalkeeper Zach Skop got the start between the pipes, recording 26 stops on the day for the win.

In women’s ice hockey, after a tightly-contested match all night, Sophia Zimmerman gave Anna Maria their first win of the season over the King’s College Monarchs, 1-0, at the New England Sports Center. Neither side was able to find the back of the net despite several scoring opportunities. Anna Maria peppered Monarch’s goalie, Kiva Sierra Stoltz with 11 shots, while Julia Smith saw nine shots. Just 4:53 into the third, Zimmerman netted her first goal of the season after she received a great lead pass from Grace Dodge for a shorthanded goal. With the triumph, Smith earned her first collegiate win and shutout.

In men’s basketball Saturday, WPI, led by tournament MVP Garrett Stephenson, earned a 68-62 win over UMass-Boston in the championship game of the second annual Paula Titus Memorial Invitational. Stephenson’s MVP performance consisted of 18 points and eight rebounds, as the Engineers big-man dominated in the paint all afternoon. The Engineers Colin McNamara led all scorers with 21 points on six-of-eight shooting, nine-of-10 from the line.Behind a combined 11 three-pointers coming from Joel Arteaga and Anthony Grzembski (Bartlett High) Clark was able to outlast Connecticut College 78-77 in a double overtime thriller. In the second overtime the Cougars took over for good as Biko Gayman drained his first three-pointer of the contest with 4:14 to go for a 69-66 lead. Antonio Lapeyrolerie made it a four-point advantage with 2:08 on the clock. The Cougars went onto convert six-of-eight from the charity stripe to seal the 78-77 victory. Tyler Davern (Bartlett High) led Clark with nine rebounds. Assumption held off Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) in a Northeast-10 Conference battle. In a game that saw 10 ties and 24 lead changes the Greyhounds captured the 87-86 victory with just seconds to play. The Penmen pulled ahead by as many as six with just over a minute to play before Assumption closed out the game on a 3-0 run with a layup by Malik Brown, a clutch three by senior Branislav Vujadinovic, and a game-winning layup by Matthew Kelly. Brown led the Greyhounds with 20 points and seven rebounds on the day. Patrick Fleming added 13 points, four assists and two steals. Kani Glover came off the bench with 12 points as he went four-for-six from three-point range. Cal Connelly, Vujadinovic, and Saxon Thompson all finished with 11 points as six Greyhounds put up double figures in the victory. Kelly finished with a game-leading five assists. Becker junior forward Guney Kilitcioglu buried two free throws with two seconds left to lead the Hawks to a 71-70 victory over the host Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA). Kilitcioglu led Becker with a career-high 18 points, shooting four-of-five from the floor and nine-of-nine from the free throw line. The junior-transfer also pulled down five rebounds and added two steals in the effort. Mateus Ribeiro posted 15 points and 11 rebounds on the day. It was Ribeiro’s fourth double-double through just seven games this season.

In women’s basketball, Assumption took down SNHU by 10 points to start their season off 1-0 in the Northeast-10 Conference with a 61-51 win. Brianna Cappachione led the Greyhounds with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Monica Spain recorded 14 points and six rebounds. Temi Falayi had eight points and eight rebounds in the win while Meghan Reen added four points, seven rebounds and five assists. Assumption shot 41.1 percent from the floor, 36.4 percent from three and 56.3 percent from the foul line while earning 40 rebounds, 16 assists and nine steals. Worcester State rallied from 13 points down with under a minute to play in the third quarter to shock Keene State College, 66-61. Erin Gallella and Catherine Sweeney were Worcester State’s leading scorers on the afternoon, each finishing with 13 points. Sweeney was just one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards, matching a team-high with Sarah Blomgren. Junior Colleen Cutting (Auburn High) hit double figures in points with 10 on the day, while freshman Charlotte MacMillan scored nine points on a trio of three-pointers.

In men’s ice hockey, Assumption and Worcester State battled to a 5-5 tie at the Worcester Ice Center. Dante Maribito, Elliott McGuire, William Smith, Brendan Philippon and John McDonagh all scored for the Greyhounds, who trailed, 4-2, entering the third period. Assumption had the next three, and led, 5-4, until the Lancers Matthew Manning notched his second of the game to tie it. Tim Drevitch, Gunther Stange and Mark Revniaga had the other Worcester State goals. McDonagh and McGuire added two assists for the Greyhounds, while Drevitch and Sean Gavin had two helpers each for Worcester State.

On Sunday an otherwise great and unexpected season came to an end on Sunday afternoon for the Assumption Greyhounds men’s soccer team, losing, 5-0, to the second-seeded Gannon Golden Knights in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Greyhounds end their season after accomplishing many new records. They set the program’s consecutive win streak of six games, won their first Northeast-10 playoff game and NE10 Championship in the same season, then went on to win their first NCAA tournament game in their first appearance in program history. Assumption also tied the program record of most wins in a season by winning 13 games this year.

YUP, IT’S THE WOOSOX

This is usually the point where I wax on about some subject I’ve been thinking about for the last couple days. But this time it’s a bit different as I get a chance to instantly react to the news released at the “reveal party” at the Mercantile Center in Worcester last night that was so big it was broadcast on NESN.

You know, the news that when the Pawtucket Red Sox move here they’ll be called what everyone has been calling them from day one?

I mean seriously folks, there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in you-know-where they were going to be called anything else. And yet everyone was sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for the official word that they’ll be the WooSox.

Surprise! Or, you know, not.

One of the many things the Red Sox organization is good at is marketing. The proof of that was the event itself to announce a name that they themselves were already using. Surem they say it was the fans that decided. But of course it wasn’t. It was all marketing.

Now somebody get me a hat.

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Once again we go Off the Post to send a shout out to the Assumption Greyhounds’ men’s soccer team as they captured their first =-ever Northeast-10 Championship victory in program history.

Kevin Hernandez and Tyler Moreau scored for Assumption to lead their team in the 2-1 win over Saint Rose. Sebastian Jimenez made seven saves to earn the victory. The Greyhounds are one of the lowest seeds to ever win the NE10 Championship, tying a record set by Southern New Hampshire University (then called New Hampshire College) in 2000. Assumption defeated Le Moyne and American International to get to the conference championship game. The Greyhounds have earned an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament and now await their seeding and opponent in the tournament.

In local results Tuesday, Nov. 12 in women’s college basketball, Becker College prevailed, 64-60, in overtime over visiting Anna Maria College. Senior Cassidy Harrison led the Hawks with 24 points, including seven in the final minutes of regulation. Sarah Ware (Quabbin Regional) finished with eight points, five rebounds and two steals. Freshman forward Natasha Pacheco continued her dominant rookie season with 12 points, 15 rebound and four assists. Amber Wilson led the Amcats with 24 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and two steals. Franchesca Hammond (Doherty High) pulled down a game-high 15 boards to go along with four assists and a block.

Worcester State University claimed a 65-22 win over Mount Holyoke College. The Lancers opened the contest on a 15-0 run, and would never look back in the victory. Mya Mosley (Wachusett Regional) was the game’s leading scorer with 19 points on the evening. Off the bench, freshman Elizabeth Gallella poured in 11 points with three rebounds and three steals in just 13 minutes of action. Worcester State held Mount Holyoke to just 18-percent shooting from the floor on the evening.

In men’s ice hockey, Anna Maria tied with Franklin Pierce University, 1-1. After a scoreless first period the Amcats were able to get on the board on a double deflected power play shot that was finally put in by Sam Cyr-Ledoux. Stephen Jacobs later tied it for the Ravens. Julius Huset (0-0-1) made his first start of the season, coming away with 32 saves of the 33 shots that he faced.

Wednesday, Nov. 13 saw Clark sophomore Ginny Benbow’s 15-point performance lead five Cougars in double-figures as the team held off Fitchburg State, 71-69, in women’s basketball. Emily Sifferlen matched her teammate with 15 points while Hannah Favaloro (Douglas High) and Sarah Zambrano tallied 12 and 10 points, respectively. Sophomore Hallie Johnson (Wachusett Regional) logged her first career double-double, pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds to go with 10 points.

In field hockey, The Little East Conference Champion Worcester State University field hockey team saw its historic 2019 season come to a close, falling, 9-0, to Messiah College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. Worcester State sees its season conclude with a mark of 18-5, the most wins in program history.

In men’s soccer, Kevin Hernandez scored the game-winner with less than five minutes left in regulation and the Assumption Greyhounds defeated the American International Yellow Jackets, 3-2, to advance to the program’s first ever Northeast-10 Conference Championship appearance. It was Hernandez’ second goal of the contest, as he connected in the 12th minute to give Assumption the 1-0 lead. Jason Lages’ 66th-minute goal gave the Greyhounds a 2-1 lead. Sebastian Jimenez made nine saves for Assumption.

In men’s basketball, Assumption defeated the Concordia College Clippers on the road, 86-61. Matthew Kelly led the all scorers with 25 points for Greyhounds, and added three steals. Branislav Vujadinovic put up a double-double, with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Malik Brown also posted a double-double, with 11 points and 10 defensive rebounds on the night. Red-shirt senior Jordan White came off the bench with 15 points and six rebounds in 14 minutes of play. Senior Patrick Fleming dished out a game-high seven assists for Assumption.

In men’s ice hockey Thursday, Nov. 14, Worcester State erased a three-goal deficit Thursday night to defeat Umass-Dartmouth, 5-3 The Corsairs got three goals in the game’s first 13 minutes to take the lead. Worcester State got on the board less than a minute after UMass-Dartmouth’s third goal, when Will Ahearn connected from the slot. With less than a minute remaining in the period, Kevin Drevitch batted home a goal on the rebound. Brian Smith found the back of the net twice in the first seven and a half minutes of the second period to give the Lancers their first lead of the night. Just over six minutes into the third, junior Jake Karelas extended Worcester State’s lead to 5-3.

On Friday, Nov. 15 in men’s basketball, Izaiah Winston-Brooks highlighted a late, 6-0, New England College run as the visiting Pilgrims upset No. 16 WPI, 78-73, in the opening round of the fifth annual Ted Coghlin Memorial Men’s Basketball Tournament. Junior Dakota Wheeler had a career night with 18 points and 17 rebounds, achieving his first career double-double before intermission. Reid Walker had a game-high 20 points, and Colin McNamara and Garrett Stephenson who both chipped in with 11. Drew Plante contributed eight of WPI’s 10 bench points, while Stephenson shared game-high assist honors with four.

The Nichols College Bison held off the Eastern Connecticut Warriors in a 74-56 victory in the other opening-round match-up. DeAnte Bruton led the Bison with 17 points, followed by teammates Jaekwon Spencer and Matt Morrow (Leicester High) with 12 apiece. Morrow added a game-high 12 rebounds.

Also in men’s basketball, Becker prevailed, 56-53, over McDaniel College in the first game of the Buffalo Wild Wings Classic. Sophomore guard Mekhi Chester led the Hawks with a career-high 16 points, shooting four of five from behind the arc with four rebounds and two assists. Jamir Carr shot six-of-seven from the floor for 14 points, with four assists and three steals. Mateus Ribeiro filled the stat line with 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Guard Jordan Rose-Wheatley added 11 points and dished out three assists. Clark earned their first win of the season as junior Tyler Davern (Bartlett High) scored a career-high 36 points on five three-pointers to power the Cougars to an 80-70 win over the University of Maine at Presque Isle in opening round action of the Herb Kenny Tip-Off Tournament. It was head coach Tyler Simms’ first win at the helm of the program. Junior Biko Gayman scored 20 points while also dishing out a game-high six assists.

In men’s ice hockey Anna Maria defeated the Suffolk University Rams, 3-2. Gavin Proeh started the scoring off for the AmCats in the first period with just under 10 minutes to go. Suffolk answered back in the second period on a power play goal by Jack Kelly, who then gave the Rams the lead in the third period with his second goal of the contest. With 13 minutes left in the third, Jack Sitzman tied it up for Anna Maria on an unassisted goal to send it into overtime. Assumption would start the extra period on a power play, and it only took 1:09 for Sam Cyr-Ladoux’s to give the Amcats the win. Julius Huset (1-0-1) saved 25 of the 27 shots he faced.

On Saturday in women’s basketball, Clark fell in opening-round action of the Dean Tip-Off Tournament as host Dean College held off the Cougars to collect a 75-66 victory. Junior Hannah Favaloro (Douglas High) corralled a new career-high of 24 rebounds while tallying a game-high 18 points to pick up her 12th career double-double and second of the year. Emily Sifferlen had a 16-point outing which included a season-high 10-of-17 from the charity stripe. Sophomore Hallie Johnson (Wachusett Regional) contributed 10 points.

Melanie Presseau scored 11 points, all in the second half, and had five steals to help lead WPI past Emerson College 56-45. Spencer Vinson had 10 points and five rebounds for the Engineers. The WPI bench accounted for 27 of the 56 points, led by Lisa Cristiano who had nine points and a team-high nine rebounds. Alex Scariati contributed eight rebounds and six assists for WPI, who improves to 3-0.

Anna Maria bested Northern Vermont University-Lyndon, 66-53. Amber Wilson was the top scorer with 22 points, 5 assists and 10 rebounds. Sienna Johnson finished with 15 points and 5 steals. Alexis Levels finished with 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals. Franchesca Hammond (Doherty High) dished out a game-high seven assists.

In men’s basketball, Clark lost to Wesleyan, 75-65, in the championship round of the Herb Kenny Tip-Off Tournament. Junior Tyler Davern (Bartlett High) picked up his second consecutive double-double, as the forward posted game-highs with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Antonio Lapeyrolerie chipped in with 10 points in 14 minutes the bench, including a pair of three-pointers, while Anthony Grzembski (Bartlett High) added six with a pair of threes. DeAnte Bruton poured in a team-high 33 points, had seven assists and pulled down five rebounds to lead No. 10 Nichols past New England College, 107-104, in the championship game of the fifth annual Ted Coghlin Memorial Tournament. For his efforts, Bruton was named tournament MVP. Matt Morrow (Leicester High) had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, Jason O’Regan (Shephard Hill) added 25 points, including 22 in the second half, and Jaekwon Spencer had 22 points and nine rebounds for the Bison, who improved to 2-0.

In the consolation game, Garrett Stephenson netted 20 points and Colin McNamara chipped in 18 as host WPI knocked Eastern Connecticut, 88-63. Jake Wisniewski (Quaboag Regional) came off the bench to add 12 points and five assists. Reid Walker dished out five assists, and Stephenson led all players with eight boards.

Becker lost, 84-65, to host Stevenson University in the championship game of the Buffalo Wild Wings Classic. Hawks junior forward Mateus Ribeiro led Becker with 16 points, five assists, and three rebounds. He was named to the All-Tournament Team.

In men’s soccer, Mark Calnan and David Lapointe netted second-half goals as WPI madvanced to the second round in the NCAA Division III Championships with a 2-0 shutout of Nazareth-New York. Rufus Adams recorded his 10th clean sheet of the season.

In women’s soccer, Worcester State saw its 2019 season come to a close, falling, 2-0, to No. 7 Christopher Newport University in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. With the loss, the Lancers end their campaign with an overall record of 11-8-2.

In men’s ice hockey, Assumption’s Michael Zampanti put up a hat trick, but that wasn’t enough as the Greyhounds lost to the Saint Michael’s Purple Knights, 4-3, in overtime. Thomas Flack had the game winner for the visitors nine seconds into the extra session. David Zulauf made 30 saves for Assumption.

Worcester State stayed perfect in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference play, defeating Framingham State University, 5-0. Evan Schieber and Nick Pennucci (St. Peter-Marian) each scored goals on the man advantage in the second period to help Worcester State take a 3-0 lead through two periods. Petr Staif was the beneficiary of a goal of a Ram defenseman’s skate early in the third period, and junior Tim Drevitch capped the scoring. In net, sophomore Ryan Hoff recorded his first shutout of the season with a 30-save effort

On Sunday in women’s basketball, Clark fell in the consolation round of the Dean Tip-Off Tournament as Regis College received point contributions from 11 different players en route to a 72-52 final. Ginny Benbow and Hallie Johnson (Wachusett Regional) did their part for the Cougars as the duo matched one another for the game-high in points with 16 apiece while also combining for 13 rebounds. Sophomore Emily Sifferlen continued her hot start to the season, tallying 11 points to round out the Cougars’ scorers in double-figures. Hannah Favaloro (Douglas High) set the tone down low with a team-high nine rebounds, while Cam Richey (Whitinsville Christian) and Benbow aided the effort on the glass with five and four rebounds respectively.

Tanner Jameson delivered a goal in the final minute of regulation to provide defending national champion and fifth-ranked Tufts a thrilling 2-1 triumph over visiting WPI in a NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Tournament second-round contest. Jivan Purutyan had the goal for the Engineers, his first collegiate goal. Rufus Adams recorded four saves in net for WPI, who finishes their season with a 13-4-4 record.

NO SURE BETT ON MOOKIE

And now on to today’s subject, I’ve had enough of the Mookie Betts guesses. There are only a handful of possibilities in the situation, ranging from the Red Sox trading him to them signing Betts to a long-term deal. You can make great arguments for a bunch of the possibilities, and some not-so-great ones for a few others. But in the end there is one absolute fact: There isn’t a single person out there that knows what’s going to happen.

Every time Betts name comes up, be it after winning an award or some writer putting stuff out there about Betts to generate clicks, the “experts” on social media will try to convince you their point of view is going to happen, with no real evidence to back up those opinions. They just want to be able to bask n the glory of being right, while quickly moving on to other subjects when they’re incorrect.

I know what I’d like to have happen, I like the Red Sox to sign Betts to a long-term deal. But that flies in the face of John Henry saying they’re going to cut payroll. I’m not going to give Henry any guff for wanting to cut the payroll, it’s his money after all and he gets to decide how he wants to spend it.

One thing that makes me wonder why they’d do it is trading Betts for prospects. Why would you trade one of the top-five players in the game today for a chance that one of those prospects turns into a top major leaguer? You already have a guy that turned into a top ball player, and I don’t understand why you’d trade him away hoping that lightning strikes twice.

It’s a lot like buying a $2 scratch ticket, winning $20, and then buying a $20 ticket with the winnings. You’d already turned your money into a big win, why risk it for a bigger win when the odds are against you?

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As we once again go Off the Post, congratulations go out to the Worcester State University field hockey team, who were crowned the 2019 Little East Conference Field Hockey Champion after a convincing, 6-0, win over Keene State College on Saturday. With the win, Worcester State moves to 18-4 overall on the season and earns the Little East’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Keene State’s season comes to a close at 15-8. Rachel Hopkins had a hat trick in the contest, Olivia Antonelli, Sarah Duff and Alexa Bobbin adding single strikes. Sophomore Jess Hopkins was stellar in net, making three saves to earn the championship-clinching shutout.

We’ll send more congratulations over to Worcester State as the Lancers won the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer tournament to earn an automatic berth into the NCAA DIII tournament. In the clinching game on Sunday, junior Ali Maldonado (Wachusett Regional) scored the game’s only goal five and a half minutes into the second overtime period. With the win, Worcester State improves to 11-7-2 overall on the season, and will face Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va., in the the first round of the NCAA tourney. The game will be played at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. on Saturday.

In other local results, on Tuesday, Nov. 5 the Clark University men’s soccer team outlasted MIT, 2-1, as sophomore Brian Brennan delivered the game-winning goal just 30 seconds into double overtime in the first round of the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament. The Cougars took the lead in the 22nd minute on a Griffin Smith header. MIT’s Isaac Perper scored early in the second half to tie it. Goalkeeper Melvin Vincent turned aside seven shots for the win.

Worcester State claimed a 3-0 win over Westfield State University in the first round of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament. Lincoln Henry had two goals for the Lancers, while Kristi Shore added a late goal for the 3-0 final. Goalkeeper Henri Guilmette earned his fourth clean sheet of the season, but did not have to make a save.

In field hockey, Assumption scored in the first quarter and then held on the remainder of the game to earn a 1-0 victory earn their way into the NE10 Semifinals. Deirdre Burchill had the only goal in the contest. The Amcats defense and goalkeeper Kylie Gargiulo made that goal stand up as she earned her 11th shutout and 15th win of the season. With three goals in the first three quarters of play, WPI defeated Mount Holyoke, 3-0, in a NEWMAC Field Hockey Tournament quarterfinal. The win marked the first NEWMAC Tournament victory for the Engineers since 2008. Kaitlyn Hess, Carlee Irish and Hannah Larochelle had the Engineers’ goals. With two saves by freshman Gabrielle Acquista and one big defensive save by junior Jackie Cardin, the Engineers held Mount Holyoke scoreless. Top-seeded Worcester State made quick work of eighth-seeded UMass-Dartmouth, defeating the Corsairs, 7-0, in the quarterfinal of the Little East Conference Tournament. Senior Rachel Hopkins scored twice, with senior Olivia Antonelli and junior Coley Hayes also chipping in first-quarter goals, all in the span of 6:23. Sophia Monopoli (Holy Name) scored early in the second quarter for Worcester State, Hopkins completed the first-half hat trick, and the hosts took a 6-0 lead into halftime. Sarah Duff scored midway through the fourth quarter giving the game its final score of 7-0. Sophomore goalkeeper Jess Hopkins did not have to make a save to get her 16th win of the season. Sophomore Kacy Florence made one save in relief in the fourth quarter.

In women’s soccer, senior forward Lauren Kaija and freshman defender Annika Keck each netted two goals in WPI’s 4-0 victory over Wheaton in a NEWMAC Women’s Soccer Tournament quarterfinal. Kaija opened up the score sheet in the 29th minute with a nice finish on a loose ball, and then picked up her second goal on the night following a rebound shot by Ashleigh Matsis in the 44th minute. Keck, who headed in two corners for the Engineers at 60:37 and 79:14. Mandy St. Germain (Nipmonk Regional) finished with three saves on the night over the first 81:37, while Lauren Francis (Natick, MA) worked the final 8:23. In other women’s soccer action, Assumption concluded their regular season with a 1-1 tie with the Franklin Pierce Ravens, finishing their season with a 7-4-5 record. Diana Bruggeman scored the Greyhounds’ tally at the 34:39 mark. Franklin Pierce then tied the game at the 81:04 mark Alexis Nason made eight saves for Assumption.

In men’s ice hockey, Worcester State nabbed a 4-2 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over Westfield State University. Westfield State scored the contest’s first goal with just 21 seconds left in the first period, but the Lancers battled back in the second period to take control of the contest. Junior captain Matthew Manning book-ended three Lancer tallies in 7:02 to put the Lancers ahead 3-1 after 40 minutes. Nick Pennucci (Worcester, Mass.) scored the middle goal for the Lancers in the frame. Sophomore Will Ahearn added a goal 4:14 into the third. Ryan Hoff got the win for Worcester State, turning aside 20 of the 22 shots he faced.

Moving on to Thursday, Nov. 7, where freshman Francesco Valagussa blasted home a shot from 20 yards out with just 90 seconds remaining to lift top-seeded and host WPI to a dramatic, 1-0, shutout over fourth-seeded Clark in a NEWMAC Men’s Soccer Tournament semifinal. WPI junior netminder Rufus Adams finished with five stops for his 10th shutout of the season and 16th clean sheet of his career. Clark keeper Melvin Vincent collected 10 saves for the Cougars. Clark’s season ended with a 12-7-0 record.

In field hockey, senior Rachel Hopkins scored the game-winning goal 7:30 into the first overtime period as the top-seeded Worcester State Lancers defeated fourth-seeded Southern Maine 3-2 in the semifinals of the Little East Conference Tournament. Hopkins scored her first goal 2:22 into the second quarter to put the Lancers ahead, 1-0. Sophia Monopoli (Holy Name) scored her 12th goal of the season at exactly the 30-minute mark of the contest to make it 2-0 at the half. Southern Maine rallied for two fourth-quarter goals, setting the scenario for Hopkins’ overtime heroics.

On Friday, Nov. 8 Worcester State’s men’s basketball team opened its season defeating Clark University, 78-70, in the annual Midnight Mayhem game early Friday morning at the Kneller Athletic Center. For the second consecutive season, the Lancers are the first team in all of Division III basketball, men or women, to win a game. The Lancers were led by senior Cal Howes who finished the evening with 17 points. Howes was one of four Lancers in double figures, as Tyler Dion (Wachusett Regional) and Erik Bjorn (Wachusett Regional) each finished with 15 points, and Chris Cardoso with 12 for Worcester State. Bjorn and Cardoso were Worcester’s leading rebounders, each finishing one shy of a double-double with nine. Cougars junior Tyler Davern (Bartlett High) tied the game-high with nine rebounds, while local Anthony Grzembski (Bartlett High) six points off bench for Clark.

Also in men’s basketball, Assumption opened their season with a victory over the New York Institute of Technology Bears, 91-74. Malik Brown led the Greyhounds with 20 points and nine rebounds on the night. Branislav Vujadinovic and Saxon Thompson both finished with 14 points to go along with four and three rebounds, respectively. Junior Matthew Kelly rounded out double-digit scoring with 13 points to go along with four assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Colin McNamara highlighted three players in double figures in scoring with 14 points and the WPI defense forced 24 turnovers as the No. 16-ranked Engineers defeated visiting Brandeis 55-46 in the 2019-20 season opener for both teams. It marked the 18th straight season that the Crimson and Gray won its first game of the season for 19th year head coach Chris Bartley. In addition to McNamara’s 14 points, the Engineers received 13 from Reid Walker and 11 from Garrett Stephenson, who led all players with 12 rebounds en route to his fourth career double-double. Becker College opened their season by defeating Bard College, 72-67, in overtime in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. Mateus Ribeiro led the Hawks with 17 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three assists while Jamir Carr scored a career-high 18 points with five assists and three rebounds. The junior shot seven of 10 from the floor. Becker sophomore guard Jordan Rose-Wheatley had a breakthrough performance, scoring 12 points with four rebounds and two steals and Mekhi Chester scored 10 points with three rebounds and two steals. The Hawks had forced the Raptors into 17 turnovers, enjoying a 20-4 advantage in points off turnovers.

In men’s ice hockey, Assumption’s Robert Roche (Holden, Mass.) gave his team a two-goal lead less than a minute into the third period of a back-and-forth game and the Greyhounds defeated the Stonehill Skyhawks, 6-4, to earn their first win of the regular season. Roche’s goal came just 49 seconds into the third. Dante Maribito scored a power play goal to make it 6-4 with one minute left in regulation. Michael Zampanti gave the Hounds a 1-0 lead 3:25 into the game on a pass. Zampanti, who later added an assist, was one of four Hounds to have one goal and one assist in the contest. Rob Holyoke joined Zampanti in the club at the 6:17 mark of the second period, scoring on the power play. Alexander Mavrogiannis, who also gave his team a 2-0 lead in the first, assisted Maribito’s goal in the third to give him his first collegiate goal and assist. David Altman made 24 saves on 28 shots in his first game of the 2019-20 season as Assumption out-shot the Skyhawks 52-28. The Hounds went 2-for-9 on the power play, while Stonehill went 1-for-5.

In field hockey, Assumption and Saint Anselm battled until the final quarter, when the Hawks’ Mary Nee was able to sneak a goal and the Hounds ran out of time to fall, 1-0, in the NE10 Semifinals. Kylie Gargiulo ended her sophomore season with a 13-4 record with two saves in the game, while Assumption’s overall record was 16-4.

On Saturday in men’s soccer, it was Assumption winning, 2-0, against the Le Moyne Dolphins to earn their first playoff victory in program history. The Hounds controlled play for most of both halves, holding Le Moyne to only two shots on goal, while scoring once in each half. Ruben Faria scored first for the Hounds with just 1:36 left in the first half. Nicolas Cardona added an insurance goal at the 57:59 mark of the second half. Sebastian Jimenez made two saves to earn his sixth shutout this season, improving to 10-7-0. Jimenez is now tied for most wins in a season out of any goalkeeper in program history. It wasn’t such great news as for WPI as Alex Crompton bicycled home a goal with just three seconds remaining in double overtime to give second-seeded Babson a stunning 1-0 victory over the top seeded Engineers in the championship game of the 2019 NEWMAC Men’s Soccer Tournament. WPI, ranked fifth in the most recent NCAA Division III New England rankings, saw its 10-game unbeaten streak (8-0-2) snapped as they were defeated for the first time since late September. The Engineers are now 12-3-4 overall and await word if they receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. (TOURNEY SEEDING/OPPONENT TO BE ADDED)

In women’s soccer, WPI saw its impressive run in the 2019 NEWMAC Tournament come to an end Saturday evening with a 3-0 loss to nationally-ranked MIT. The Engineers, who were ranked ninth in the latest NCAA Division III New England rankings, are 16-5-1 overall with three of its five losses to No. 1 MIT and No. 3 Tufts. They also await word if they receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. (TOURNEY SEEDING/OPPONENT TO BE ADDED)

In men’s basketball, Assumption defeated the Caldwell University Cougars, 100-73, on day two of the Assumption Tip-Off Classic. The Greyhounds set the program’s record for three-pointers made in a game with 21. Matthew Kelly led the Greyhounds in scoring with 17 points and added seven assists and six rebounds. Patrick Fleming and Isiah Gaiter each added 15 points while Branislav Vujadinovic finished the night with a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds. Assumption shot 53.3 percent from the field, including 50 percent from behind the arc.

In women’s basketball, the Greyhounds captured a 40-point victory in their season opener on the road as Assumption defeated Concordia University, 81-41. Monica Spain made her career debut to lead the Hounds with 19 points and six rebounds while Brianna Capacchione notched 15 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double. Anna Shaughnessy recorded 12 points and six rebounds, and Temi Falayi earned 11 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double while adding three blocks. Melanie Presseau poured in 14 of her career-high 16 points in a third quarter as WPI kicked off their season with a 54-41 victory over Clark in an opening round game of the 39th annual Worcester City Tournament. Presseau was the only Engineer in double digits in scoring as seniors Spencer Vinson and Alana Keating (St. Bernard’s) each added seven points. Vinson led all players with 11 rebounds to go along with two blocks and a pair of steals. Presseau also excelled on the defensive end, adding four steals while Sara Lyons chipped in with two steals and a pair of assists. Clark Junior Hannah Favaloro (Douglas High) logged her 11th career double-double in the setback as the forward tallied a team-high 16 points and 10 rebounds while coming away with five steals. Sophomore guard Virginia Benbow finished with 11 points in her first collegiate start. Worcester State opened its season with a 62-44 win over Becker College in the other first round game of the Worcester City Tournament. The Lancers were led by senior Mya Mosley (Wachusett Regional), who recorded a game-high 19 points. Karalyn Gallella chipped in 17 points for a strong showing in her first college game. Natasha Pacheco was the leading scorer for the Hawks, and recorded the game’s only double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds. Cassidy Harrison added 15 points of her own in the defeat

In men’s ice hockey, Alexander Mavrogiannis netted the game-winning goal with 43 seconds left in overtime to lift Assumption 4-3 over the Post Eagles. Michael Zampanti put the Hounds up 3-2 at the 3:07 mark of the third period. Christopher Stalmok (Paxton, Mass.) gave the Hounds an initial 1-0 lead at the 12:58 mark of the first. Post was able to tie the game at one by the end of the period and then went up 2-1 at the 11:54 mark of the second, but Maribito tied the game at two just 30 seconds after Post’s go-ahead goal. David Altman made 33 saves on 36 shots and improved to 2-0-0 on the year.

In women’s ice hockey, Becker won their 2019-20 home opener, 2-0, over visiting Salve Regina University at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center. The Hawks struck first 7:18 into the second period when Becker sophomore defender Gabby Petrisin scored her second goal of the season. Cassidhe Wozniak made it 2-0 10:26 into the third period. Becker freshman goalkeeper Amber Lee picked up her first career win in net, tallying 33 saves in the shutout.

As we head Off the Post once again a quick update that missed last week’s posting. On Monday, Oct. 28 in women’s soccer, Holy Cross got a goal from Freshman Katie Quinn (Wachusett Regional), assisted by Jenna Barnes, to tie Lafayette 1-1. The game was originally called as a no-contest after 56 minutes of play the day before due to field conditions following heavy rain, which wiped out what would have been Quinn’s first collegiate goal. So Quinn scored her second “first collegiate goal” in as many days to give her squad the tie.

Tuesday, Oct. 29 saw Clark University’s volleyball squad continuing their late-season winning ways as the Cougars downed WPI 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-16) to notch their fifth consecutive victory during a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference tilt. Sophomore Margarita Perez-Maza and first-year Cameron Gill (Shrewsbury High) provided a dynamic attack for Clark as the duo contributed 17 and 12 kills, respectively, in the win. Junior Sophia Torino recorded a match-high 37 assists to facilitate the offense, while sophomore Marimo Oka came up with a match-high 22 digs on the defensive end. In women’s soccer, Clark University earned a comeback victory as senior captain Megan Marocco delivered the game-winning goal in the 103rd minute, lifting the Cougars to a 2-1 double overtime win over Emerson College in a NEWMAC match up. Junior Inonge Kaloustian tied the game for Clark in the 52nd minute. Maya Mashkuri assisted on both Cougars tallies. In men’s soccer, Assumption College got goals from Kevin Hernandez, Jeremy Martin and Jason Lages for a 3-0 win over the University of New Haven in a match-up of Northeast 10 rivals. Sebastian Jimenez picked up his fifth clean sheet with the win. Worcester State got a goal from Ethan Melia (Shrewsbury High) as they edged out the Keene State Owls, 1-0. Henri Guilmette made 14 saves for his third clean sheet of the season. In field hockey, Assumption scored early and often to seal the 5-0 win over Molloy College in their last home game of the season to finish the campaign undefeated on their home turf. Summer Walsh scored twice for the Greyhounds, while Kileigh Hynes (Auburn High), Deirdre Burchill, and Shannon Quinlan each added a goal. Kylie Gargiulo advanced her record to 11-4 and earned her ninth shutout on the season. In men’s ice hockey, Assumption got two third period goals to defeat New England College 4-3. Devan Sheth had two goals, including the game winner at 17:24 of the third, and two assists to lead the Greyhounds. Robert Holyoke added a goal and two assists while Michael Zampanti had the fourth Assumption tally and also added a helper. David Zulauf made 32 saves for the win.

On Wednesday, Oct. 30 in women’s soccer, Emily MacDonald and Brooke Shatney both scored in Assumption’s 2-2 tie with the University of New Haven. Alexis Nason made eight saves and moved to 5-4-3 on the year. Worcester State got goals from Ali Maldonado (Wachusett Regional) and Leah Fitzgerald (Nipmuc Regional) to secure a 2-0 victory over UMass-Dartmouth. The game was the 500th in the history of the Worcester State women’s soccer program. Ashley Spellman (Nashoba Regional) got her third clean sheet for the season in net for the Lancers making eight saves. In field hockey, junior Abby O’Sullivan’s stand-alone goal in the 19th minute proved to be enough as WPI went on the road and defeated Clark, 1-0, in a NEWMAC contest. Kaitlyn Hess had the assist on the play. It was goalkeeper Ali Gannon’s sixth shutout on the season. Thanks to goals from Anne Melanson (Grafton High) and Abigayle Celata (Narragansett Regiona) Anna Maria College topped Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival Rivier University, 2-1. Lauren Lapierre (South High) and Chayna Bingham-Hendricks had assists for the Amcats. Hannah Tobey made two saves on the afternoon for Anna Maria and improved her record to 7-3

With nothing scheduled for Halloween we move on to Friday, Nov. 1 in men’s soccer, where Assumption scored two unanswered goals in the second half, including the game-winner at the 76:36 mark, to take down the Bentley Falcons, 2-1. Jason Lages netted the game-tying goal at the 60:50 mark on a through-ball into the box, finishing a nice kick to tie the game. Jeremy Martin then netted the game-winner just 15:46 later when he took a shot from the corner and played a Bentley-deflection into the back of the net. Sebastian Jimenez made six saves and improved to 9-6-0 on the year. Katherine Pawlak and Molly Silsby helped the WPI Women’s swimming and diving team start out the month on a positive note as each won a pair of events to propel the host Engineers to a string of sizable victories in a five-way meet that also included Babson, Brandeis, Smith and Simmons to move to and early 4-0 record. WPI beat its closest competitor, the Beavers, by a 183-110 score, also topping Simmons (203-95), Brandeis (218.50-74.50) and Smith (223-76), as the Engineers (4-0) won 6 of the 16 events and finished runner-up in 5 events. Local swimmer Cailin Gonyea (Southbridge High) was third in the 500-yard freestyle (5:35.32) and 1,000 free (11:20.70). For the WPI men, Sid Williams led the way with a pair of second-place finishes in the Engineers’ home-opening meet versus Babson and Brandeis. WPI (0-2) fell to the Beavers, 154-117, and to the Judges by a 140-131 score. In Women’s ice hockey Becker sophomore Clare Conway scored a shorthanded goal at 17:09 of the opening period and Freshman Shelby Reaugh netted her first career goal in the middle stanza but Chatham University would tie the game in the third and get an overtime strike to defeat the Hawks, 3-2. Amber Lee made 27 saves for Becker. In Men’s ice hockey Worcester State opened its 2019-20 season in style, defeating rink-sharing rival Becker College, 4-2, in non-conference action at the Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Center. Kevin Drevitch had two goals for the Lancers, while Nick Pennucci (Worcester, Mass native) and Brendan Ronan added single strikes. Matthew Manning added two assists. Ryan Hoff (13 saves) and Josh Reinstein (22 saves) split the goaltending duties for the Lancers. Shawn Peckham and Romain Wild scored for the Hawks, with Grant Martens making 32 saves in the loss. Anna Maria took down Chatham University, 4-1, with four different Amcats finding the back of the net. Quinn Chevers-Whoms, Sam Cry-Ledoux, Nolan Shaw, and Nick Kukuris were the goal scorers for Anna Maria, and Brendan Boncore had 24 saves for the win. In volleyball Becker concluded their regular season by posting a three-set victory (25-19, 25-14, 25-17) over visiting Lesley University. Gillian Criddle posted a dominant night at the net, tallying eight kills, hitting .538 and throwing down four solo blocks. Sofia Cullina led a stellar defensive effort with 14 digs, adding three kills and two aces. Junior right side Yesenia Aviles (Southbridge High) sparked the offense, going six-for-six on her attacks and adding three aces and six digs.

On Saturday in local college football, MIT’s Mark Wright drilled a 41-yard field goal on the final play of regulation to force overtime and Keithen Shepard pulled down a 23-yard TD pass in the back of the end zone in the second extra session to lift MIT to a 28-22 home win over previously undefeated WPI. The result denied WPI (7-1, 4-1 NEWMAC) the chance to match the undefeated 1983 team as the only one in the 130-year history of the program to start a season 8-0. Local Nick Ostrowski (Shepherd Hill Regional) posted 15 tackles.

In other collegiate sports on Saturday, Clark University closed the 2019 campaign on a positive note as the Cougars topped Smith College in volleyball 3-1 (16-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-19) in a NEWMAC bout to pick up their sixth straight victory. Junior Sophia Torino has been pivotal during the stretch with the setter notching her fifth straight 30-plus assist outing on Saturday, leading the team with 30 helpers in the victory. First-year Cameron Gill (Shrewsbury High) continued her strong play as well, finding the floor for 12 kills, while sophomore Margarita Perez-Maza aided the offensive attack with 11 kills of her own. Sophomore Marimo Oka led the way defensively, coming up with a match-high 23 digs for the Cougars. In women’s soccer, Assumption and Adelphi University battled to a 0-0 draw. Alexis Nason made seven saves for the Greyhounds to earn her second clean sheet of the season. WPI’s Sofia Orrico and Annika Keck registered second half goals the Engineers rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit to defeat host Springfield, 2-1, and earn a home game in next week’s NEWMAC Championship Tournament. Mandy St. Germain (Nipmuc Regional) made eight saves and upped her record to 14-4-1 with the win. Worcester State got goals from Madison Rotti (Wachusett Regional), Tsara LeBlanc and Ali Maldonado (Wachusett Regional) to defeat the Bridgewater State Bears 3-1. Ashley Spellman (Nashoba Regional) had five saves in the win. In men’s soccer, Senior Luke Reiniger scored the game-winning goal, his fourth goal of the season in the 71st minute to lift visiting WPI over Clark in the final regular season NEWMAC contest for both teams. Mark Calnan had the Engineers first goal, while freshman Griffin Smith scored his first collegiate goal in the 81st minute for Clark. In field hockey, WPI scored three unanswered second-half goals, two by Carly Cidado, en route to a 3-1 NEWMAC win over visiting Mount Holyoke College. Abby O’Sullivan scored the eventual winner, her 21st goal of the season, tipping in a shot from senior Shannon Hynes (Auburn High) in the third quarter for the Engineers. Freshman keeper Gabrielle Acquista made two saves for WPI. Worcester State locked up the top seed in the Little East Conference Tournament defeating Western Connecticut State University, 3-1, in the team’s regular season finale. Sophia Monopoli (Holy Name) had two of the Lancers goals while Olivia Antonelli added a late insurance marker. Sophomore goalkeeper Jess Hopkins made five stops for the Lancers to pick up her 15th win of the season in goal. In women’s ice hockey, Becker got goals from five different players to a split of a two-game weekend series with a 5-2 win over the Chatham Cougars. Gabby Petrisin, Nikki DeCola, Clare Conway, Katie Puumala, and Cameron Payne were the goal scorers for the Hawks, with Kylian Kelly (Shrewsbury High) picking up two assists. Freshman Madelyn Morgan made 40 saves for the win in her first start for the Hawks. In Men’s ice hockey Anna Maria won their second straight game against Chatham University at Horgan Arena, 5-3. Gavin Proeh had two goals for the Amcats while Quinn Chevers-Whorms, Michael Padgeon, and Quinn Tucker had single strikes. Brendan Boncore made 24 saves to improve his record to 2-0. In Men’s cross country Worcester State placed third at the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships at Moore State Park. Sophomore Drew Fottlerwas Worcester State’s top finisher, crossing the line of the five-mile course in a time of 27:39 for a fourth place finish. The second Lancer finisher was sophomore Wayne Carey (Shrewsbury High) with a sixth-place finish and a time of 27:59. Worcester’s third finisher was sophomore Patrick Carleton, placing eighth with a finish of 28:02. The trio was all named MASCAC All-Conference for their performances. For the Women Worcester State placed third. Sophomore Ryann Molinari (Grafton High) was Worcester State’s top finisher, crossing the line of the 5k course in a time of 19:52 for a fourth place finish. The second Lancer finisher was sophomore Kasey Clark (Shepherd Hill Regional) with an eighth-place finish and a time of 20:48. Both were named MASCAC All-Conference for their performances.

Now this is where we usually post a topic for the week, but a busy weekend and a bad back have put me on the shelf the last couple days, so we’ll skip it for this week. I promise to better next time.

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