NEW LONDON, Conn. -- In the first taste of New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action this season, the Coast Guard Bears and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Engineers battled to a draw after ninety minutes of back and forth action. 

The majority of the game play was spent in the middle of the field, fighting for possession. Junior Charles Fish and senior John Flood were instrumental in facilitating the Bears on the field. Fish ended with five shots, two of which were on goal, and played all ninety minutes. Flood helped hold down the Bears on both ends of the pitch as well, tallying three shots on net himself. 

At the end of the day, it was the goal keepers who proved to be the most instrumental for both teams. Junior, Wolfgang Pfleghar, once again got the nod in net for the Bears. He saw eleven shots from the Engineers, five of which were on net, and once again did not let a ball get by him. The Bears have still not allowed a goal through five games this season. WPI senior goalkeeper, Roe Hendricks, stopped all seven of the shots on goal from the Bears, who totaled thirteen total shots in today's game.

Neither team was able to take over the game, keeping the fans at Nitchman Field on the edge of their seats the whole time. As the ball traveled from one end of the field to the other, and time ticked away in the second half, players jockeyed for position with an extra chip, but at the end of regulation the score remained deadlocked. New this year, the game ended at the conclusion of the second half, with no overtime period. 

Head Coach Chris Parsons continues to be impressed with his team's effort and ability to defend and support the efforts of their 'keep. He had this to say about today's action: 

"We continue to defend very well as a team! This marked our fifth straight shut out to start the season. Today, the ball did not go in the back of the net for us. WPI is always a physical challenge and we matched their physicality today.  We are looking forward to our two home matches this week."

Coast Guard's record moves to 4-0-1. WPI sits at 2-1-2 on the season, with both squads being 0-0-1 in the NEWMAC. The Bears prepare next for an out-of-conference, local opponent, in Mitchell College, coming up this Wednesday, September 21st, 2022 at 6pm EST. Wednesday's game will be the second of a nice four game stretch for the Bears.