BEVERLY, Mass. — The Endicott men's soccer team took down No. 12 nationally ranked WPI by a 1-0 score on Saturday afternoon at Hempstead Stadium.
The Gulls struck first in the 18th minute courtesy of junior Conor Rooney's (Monroe, Conn.) second goal of the season, as he found the bottom right corner off of an Aidan Sheehan (Arlington, Mass.) feed through two defenders.
The visitors had their best chance of the half three minutes later, as they were awarded a penalty kick after an Endicott foul in the box. Sophomore goalkeeper Michael McDonough (Dedham, Mass.) dove fully extended to save the penalty and preserve the hosts' 1-0 lead as the contest headed to halftime.
Despite WPI outshooting Endicott 15-2 in the second half, the Gulls defense maintained their one-goal advantage for the rest of the game in an intense nailbiter. The Engineers nearly knotted the game up at one apiece in the 71st minute, but Endicott's Camden Rigney (Wilbraham, Mass.) recorded a clutch team save to keep the visitors off the board.
The defense thwarted each of the remaining WPI chances, and the Gulls snatched their second shutout win of the season. McDonough tallied a career-high six saves in his second shutout, and saw his record improve to 2-2-1 on the season.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- With the win, the Gulls knotted up the all-time series at 3-3-2.
- This is the third team the Gulls have faced to have received a national ranking during the 2024 season (1-2-0 record in those contests).
- WPI was unbeaten in its previous 18 games before this loss.
- First Gulls win over a ranked opponent since 2016 (Tufts, 1-0, 9/6/16).
- Sheehan recorded his first assist of the season (third career) on Rooney's goal
WHAT'S NEXT
Endicott (2-2-1) hosts No. 6 nationally ranked Middlebury for a 7 PM contest on Tuesday night. No. 12 WPI (5-1-0) hosts No. 1 nationally ranked Amherst on Tuesday night, also at 7 PM.
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(Photo Credit - Griffin Jones '27)
