TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Fightin' Engineers defeated the Manchester Spartans by a score of 3-0 to close out the regular season.
Ryan Shapiro and
Oliver Fila each had early opportunities to score three minutes into the match, where their shots were saved by Will Martin.
Justin Burns hauled in his first save in the 12th minute and he added another save on a strike down the middle in the 25th. Shapiro added another strike on goal as he fired a bullet from the left side that was deflected away in the 32nd minute.
The Fightin' Engineers were awarded a corner kick in the 34th minute, which was taken by Shapiro. He would make a pass to Fila, and Fila would tap the pass back to Shapiro who lobbed the ball towards the left side of the goal. The lob connected with
Cameron Hannah, and he headed his pass towards the front of the goal, where it was kicked in by
Nick Phillips for his first goal of the season.
With less than three minutes remaining in the half, Shapiro intercepted a pass that was intended for a Spartans defender. He found himself in a one-on-one situation with the keeper, where he juked him out with a cut to the left, before kicking in his HCAC leading 14th goal of the season.
Shapiro continued to thrive in the second half, as he recorded his fifth shot on goal in the 53rd minute which was deflected away.
Pace Morel would also add a shot on goal eight minutes later which was kicked away on a team save by Manchester.
The Fightin' Engineers found themselves on the fastbreak in the 74th minute, as Hannah made a pass outside the box that connected with Shapiro. Shapiro crossed the pass right back to Hannah, where he would also score his first goal of the season to give Rose-Hulman a 3-0 lead.
Justin Burns hauled in his third and final save of the game right before time expired, to cap off the win for the Fightin' Engineers. He has now secured ten shutouts this season which leads the HCAC and ranks as the third most in a season in school history.
With the victory, Rose-Hulman secures the #3-seed in the HCAC Tournament. They will re-match with #6-seed Manchester in the HCAC Quarterfinals on Saturday, October 31 at 4 PM.
