SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –  After falling behind early, the MIT men's soccer team responded with two goals as the Engineers and Springfield played to a 2-2 draw on Saturday afternoon at Brock-Affleck Field.
 
THE BASICS

• Score: MIT 2, Springfield 2
• Records: MIT (6-7-1 Overall, 1-2-1 NEWMAC), Springfield (4-6-2 Overall, 2-1-1 NEWMAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• Senior Matthew Mela (Natick, Mass.) sent a pass to junior Parker Thornton (Malden, Mass.) who found the back of the net at 27:26 to give the Pride a 1-0 lead.
• The Engineers responded with two quick goals in the second half to take the lead. Junior Kaleb Asfaw (San Jose, Calif.) sent a pass to first year Shikhar Motupally (Avon, Conn.) whose shot from five yards outside of the box got past Springfield keeper Noah Pote (Washington, Conn.) at 59:02.
• Motupally sent a long pass through the Pride defense to sophomore Dilin Meloni (Needham, Mass.) who guarded off his defender and got his shot into the lower right corner of the net at 61:52 to give MIT the lead.
• Thornton got his second goal off a Cole Sampson (Hingham, Mass.) pass to tie the match at 63:52.
• Graduate student Adam Snowdon (Lorton, Va.) had his shot with under a minute left turned away Pote to secure the 2-2 tie.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

• Motupally now leads MIT in goals (6), assists (7), and points (19). Meloni scored his first goal of the season.
• Sophomore Paolo Mangiafico (Farmington, Conn.) made seven saves in net while Pote made two.
• MIT held a slight 14-13 margin in shots, but the Pride held a 9-4 advantage in shots on goal.
• Thornton scored his first goals of the season for Springfield.

UP NEXT: 

• MIT returns home as they welcome Emerson to Roberts Field on Saturday, October 19 for a 1:00 PM contest. Springfield is also back in action on the 19th as the Pride will host WPI at 3:00 PM.

STAY CONNECTED: 

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