WPI 2, MIT 1

Box Score  

Worcester, MA --- Kevin Ducharme (Bedford, MA) made his first goal of the season a memorable one as he successfully converted a penalty kick with just 2:26 remaining in regulation to propel WPI to a dramatic 2-1 victory over visiting MIT in a NEWMAC Men's Soccer Tournament quarterfinal on Wednesday.  WPI advances to this weekend's semifinals where they will face top-seeded and host Babson.  Game time for Saturday is scheduled for 10:30am. 

The hosts were awarded the penalty kick when Thomas Cucinotta (Easton, MA), who had slipped beyond the defenders, was taken down just to the left of the penalty spot.  His shot went to the lower right corner and was his second career marker. 

MIT then applied significant pressure in the final two minutes, with their best chance coming on a shot by Zachary Kabelac (Potomac, MD), that went high and hard over the crossbar with 44 seconds remaining. 

MIT (8-9) opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Chris Hammond (Wilmington, DE) buried a cross from Christian Therkelsen (Nerbru, Norway) into the back of the net for his third goal of the season.  

WPI (10-6-1) answered back midway through the first half.  Mike Ford (Whitman, MA) connected with Tommy Zajac (Merrimack, NH) on a nifty one-touch, who split the defense with a pass to Jason Hopkins (Mendon, MA).  Hopkins beat the MIT goalie to the lower left for his team-leading 11th marker of the season at 24:40. 

WPI netminder Paul Moan (Watertown, MA) was called upon to make five saves on the night while Dylan Rankin (Providence, RI), his MIT counterpart, made a pair of stops for the visitors.  For the game, the MIT enjoyed a 11-8 advantage in shots and took seven of the game's 10 corner kicks.