Alfred Koroma's (Milbury, Mass.) goal in the 60th minute was the difference as Worcester State claimed a 2-1 win over Westfield State in an evenly played MASCAC men's soccer match at Alumni Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Lancers improve to 7-8-1 on the season and 3-3 in the league, assuring themselves of a postseason tournament bid. Westfield dips to 4-10-1 overall and 2–4 in the MASCAC. Westfield will need to secure at least a tie against Mass Maritime next Saturday for the Owls to be assured of a berth in the MASCAC playoffs.
Koroma's game winner came when teammate Lincoln Henry (Kingston, Jamaica) slipped a long through ball through the Owls back line, and Koroma beat Owls goalkeeper Tyler Diotalevi (Ludlow, Mass.) to the far side.
The Lancers grabbed a 1-0 lead just 1:41 into the match as Laszlo Dorogi (West Boylston, Mass.) stole a weak pass near midfield and bolted to the Owls goal, using good footwork to a beat a pair of defenders and find the far side netting.
Westfield tied the match at 1-1 in the 50th minute. Paul Soucy (Acushnet, Mass.) lofted a long free kick into the penalty area, where it was knocked down by a Lancers defender, but right to the feet of Nate Weaver (Westfield, Mass.), who buried the shot from seven yards out.
Westfield generated a corner kick and a long throw in opportunity in the final three minutes, but was not able to get a quality scoring chance from either.
Diotalevi finished with three saves for Westfield, while Henri Guillmette (Franklin, Mass.) made four stops for Worcester State. Westfield held a 15-13 advantage in total shots , while Worcester generated three corner kicks to the Owls' two.
Westfield State recoginized it's three seniors and their families in a pre-match ceremony, honoring Weaver, back Jabari Smith (Enfield, Conn.) forward Ryan Della Penna (Suffield, Conn.).