CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Coast Guard junior Aki Freeman (San Diego, Calif.) broke a 1-1 tie at 79:25 of the second half to lead the visiting Bears to a 2-1 victory over the MIT men's soccer team in the NEWMAC opener for both teams on Saturday evening at Roberts Field.  

THE BASICS:  

• Score: No. 12 Coast Guard 2, MIT 1 
• Records: Coast Guard (5-0-1, Overall, 1-0-0 NEWMAC); MIT (4-4-0 Overall, 0-1-0 NEWMAC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED:  

• Coast Guard opened the scoring on a first half goal by senior defender Jude Sargent (West Hartford, Conn.) when Freeman found Sargent at the back of the net on a corner kick at 21:30.  
• Coast Guard had the early advantage but it was MIT that pressed for the remainder of the half, finishing the first 45 minutes with a 9-5 edge in shots.  
• MIT found the equalizer in the second half when first year Shikhar Motupally (Avon, Conn.) sliced a cross into the box toward classmate Zain Arfoosh (Lawrenceville, Ga.). Arfoosh redirected the ball with a header, past Coast Guard goalkeeper John Putnam (Halfmoon, N.Y.) and into the net. 
• The game remained tied until the 80th minute when Freeman made a great individual effort, dribbling down left side of field, past a defender and slotting the ball into back left corner of the net. 
• MIT nearly tied the contest in the final ten minutes, but a bid off the foot of senior Jack Minor (Boca Raton, Fla.) clanged off the crossbar and was cleared from danger.  

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:  

• Freeman's goal was his NEWMAC-leading sixth of the season. 
• Arfoosh recorded his first collegiate goal. Motupally leads MIT with 11 points.  

UP NEXT:   

• MIT will make the short trip to Boston to take on non-conference Suffolk University at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, September 25.  

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