Men’s Soccer Stampedes Past Wentworth in CCC Opener

EAST BOSTON – Four different players potted the rock in the first half and Xander Balog was perfect in net to push Suffolk men's soccer to a 4-0 victory over Wentworth in the Commonwealth Coast Conference debut Friday afternoon at James A. Sartori Stadium at East Boston Memorial Park. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 4 | Wentworth 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (3-2-1, 1-0-0 CCC) | Wentworth (2-4-0, 0-1-0 CCC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Taj Jensen and Tommy Handelsman teamed up early on to get Suffolk on the board. Handelsman took the ball down the right side of the field and found Jensen ahead. The junior captain fired a shot from 12 yards out high into the opposite side of the net out of the grasp of Noah Lawless. The shot, Suffolk's first of the day, resulted in the first goal just 4:02 into the tilt.  

The Rams doubled the distance at the 22:53 mark. Damon Smargon picked up the pieces from Francisco Valck's header in the box. The rock bounced away from the goal towards Smargon's boot and the sophomore sent a looping shot from the left to the right side of the net to make it 2-0 Suffolk.

Seven minutes later Brady Sorensen put away a beautiful feed from Aiden McLaughlin to stretch Suffolk's advantage to three. On the right sideline, McLaughlin led a sprinting Sorensen down field. The senior received the ball, used a high bounce to head it towards the net and it soared to the back of the twine.  

Sorensen took on the assist role with 1:50 remaining before the intermission as he passed to a diving Diego Pierantozzi, who quickly put a shot on target that was out of the reach of Lawless to pad the lead at 4-0 at half time.  

Suffolk's scoring slowed in the second stanza as the Leopards brought in Giovanni Ruggieri to defend the pipes. Thankfully, the first-half damage paid off for the host.    

KEEPING UP WITH THE KEEPERS

• Balog logged two saves in the shutout. 
• Lawless recorded four stops in the first half of the loss. 
• Ruggieri did not face a shot on target in the second stanza.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Sorensen supplied one goal and one assist. 
• Jensen, Pierantozzi and Smargon all found the back of the net once. 
• Handelsman and Valck dished out one assist each. 
• Suffolk outshot Wentworth, 18-6. 
• The Rams had a 8-2 shots on goal advantage. 
• Wentworth took three corners compared to the Rams' two.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk moved to 2-0-1 in its CCC opener. 
• The Rams recorded a triumph in their first CCC game of the campaign since 2021, a 1-0 shutout of Gordon. 
• Both of Suffolk's CCC game one victories have come via shutout. 
• Suffolk is undefeated, 2-0-0, when playing its first CCC contest of a campaign at home.
• The Rams have never given up a goal to a CCC opponent in a conference opener played on Suffolk's home field in program history. 
• Suffolk poured in multiple goals in its CCC opener for the first time in program history. 
• The blue-and-gold faced Wentworth in its first CCC game of the year for the first time. 
• Suffolk moved to 6-7-2 against WIT since 1989. 
• The Rams coupled back-to-back wins together over the Leopards since stringing four together 1994-97. 
• Suffolk is 3-3-1 versus Wentworth when serving as the home team. 
• Suffolk has outscored WIT, 8-0, in the last two meetings. 
• Seven games have been decided via shutout fashion in the all-time series between Suffolk and Wentworth. 
• Suffolk is 4-3-0 in cleansheet against WIT. 
• As CCC counterparts, Suffolk moved to 2-2-0 against the Leopards. 
• The Rams are 2-2-0 versus WIT with Bill Maddock as a coach.
• It is the second straight meeting Suffolk scored four goals against Wentworth, which is the second-most in the all-time series behind a five-goal offensive output in a 5-5 double overtime draw Sept. 19, 1999. 
• The four goals scored are the most this season for Suffolk and most since it defeated Wentworth, by the same score, 4-0, Oct. 11, 2022. 
• Suffolk kept its third opponent off the scoreboard this season.
• Pierantozzi and Sorensen scored their second goals of the season. 
• Jensen and Smargo potted their first goals of the year. 
• McLaughlin dished out his first of the season, third of his collegiate career.
• Valck recorded his first collegiate point. 
• Balog had his second shutout of the season.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk concludes its three-match home stay Tuesday, Sept. 19 when it hosts Mass. Maritime in a non-conference clash at 7 p.m. in Eastie.