Bingham scores twice in win
Engineers stay undefeated within NEWMAC play
In a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game on a uncharacteristically warm late October afternoon, Sean D. Bingham ’16 netted two goals to lead the MIT men’s soccer team to a 2-0 win over Clark University. Bingham’s NEWMAC-leading 14 goals on the season puts him sixth in the country for goals per game and tied for seventh for total goals. Tech is now 9-3-1 for the season and remains undefeated in conference action with a record of 4-0-1. The Cougars dipped to 3-10-2 and 0-4-1 in league play.
Just 11 minutes into the first half, following a cross from Austin E. Freel ’16, Bingham scored his first goal of the game from inside the box, shooting to the left side of the net and past the hands of diving Clark keeper Alfonso Alvarez. For the rest of the period, goalie Samuel G. Cannon ’15 saw more action than Alvarez, having to make three saves compared to Alvarez’s one.
With 10 minutes remaining in the half, Kyle Russo took a point blank shot from inside the net but Cannon was able to make the save to preserve MIT’s lead. At the 40 minute mark, Alvarez made an impressive save when he punched a shot by Nicholas A. Diamantoni ’15 over the crossbar. Seconds later, he caught a corner kick, also sent by Diamantoni, which was heading directly towards the right corner of the net, preventing the Engineers from increasing their lead.
A minute and a half into the second 45-minute period, Bingham found the back of the net once again after receiving a quick pass from Matthew A. Monheit ’14 directly outside of the cage, shooting to the right corner of the net. For the next 20 minutes, both teams struggled to gain possession and the ball spent a lot of time going from one side of the field to the other. MIT took 10 shots during this time and only two of them had to be saved by Alvarez. With three and a half minutes left in the game, Kenneth Vera took a promising shot but was blocked by Matthew De La Ossa. MIT defense played well during the second half, blocking all but three of Clark’s attempts at goal, the others being saved by Cannon. When the clock ran out, Tech walked away with its fourth straight win.
MIT outshot Clark 27-12. Cannon, who is now 3-2 for the season and earned his second consecutive shutout after recording 15 saves against Tufts on Wednesday, had six saves compared to Alvarez’s eight. Bingham and Diamantoni both took five shots, with three of them apiece being on goal.
The Engineers will play in their second to last non-conference game on Wednesday, Oct. 23 when they host Framingham State University at 6:00 p.m. Then they will be on the road to face Springfield College, who is currently sitting in third in the NEWMAC standings, on Saturday, Oct. 26 at 1:00 p.m. The season is slowly winding down for MIT, as there are just two and a half weeks left until the NEWMAC Championships, which will begin on Wednesday, Nov. 6.