CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Charles Lai notched his first collegiate goal to give the MIT men's soccer team a 2-0 season-opening victory over Western New England on a rainy Friday afternoon on Roberts Field.  
 
THE BASICS: 

• Score: MIT 2, Western New England 0 
• Records: MIT (1-0 Overall, 0-0-0 NEWMAC), Western New England (1-0-0, 0-0-0 CNE) 

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• The Bears had an early scoring chance just over five minutes into the game when Ben Riley put a shot on goal, but Paolo Mangiafico made a diving save to turn Riley away. Mangiafico turned away another Western New England scoring chance later in the half to keep the match scoreless. 
• Ethan Reich lifted a ball off a free-kick into the front of the net where Lai headed the ball into the goal at 48:03. 
• Nigel Martin looked to bring the Bears even, but Mangiafico turned away his shot at the 61:32 mark. 
• The Engineers tallied an insurance goal with just under ten minutes remaining as Peter Jedlicka sent the pass into the front of the goal for Dilin Meloni  who was able to put the ball past a diving Braylon Casinghino. 
   

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

• WNEU held a slight 12-9 edge in shots as both teams placed five shots on target. 
• Mangiafico earned the shutout win with five saves. 
• The Bears held a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks. 

UP NEXT: 

• MIT remains on Roberts Field as the Engineers will welcome Occidental on Sunday, August 31 for a 12:00 PM start. The Bears also return to action on Sunday as they welcome Clark for a 1:00 PM contest.  

 
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