Cambridge, Mass. – September 17, 2011 – Kevin Nowak drilled his first collegiate goal in the 87th minute to lift the Springfield College men’s soccer team to a thrilling 1-0 win at MIT in both teams New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, Springfield continues its terrific start to the 2011 campaign as it now stands at 4-0-2, including 1-0 in league play. It was MIT’s first loss of the season as the Engineers are now 4-1.

For the Pride, goalkeeper Brett Bascom continued to keep opponents off the scoreboard as he has now gone 355 minutes between the pipes without surrounding a goal.

  The first half was relatively quiet as the Engineers had a 3-1 edge in shots, two of which were stopped by Bascom, and a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks.

  MIT nearly ended the deadlock on several occasions during the first 15 minutes of the second stanza. With the ball in the box, freshman John Kramer spun around to get loose and then unleashed a low shot that was turned away by Bascom. A few minutes later, a header by junior Ben Lewis went over the crossbar. The Engineers then had three touches during a scramble in front of the goal but they could not capitalize on the opportunity.

  The PrideÂ's best attempt to get on the board came with 15 minutes on the clock. Danny Amato passed to Drew Vanasse on the near side with only junior goalie Dylan Rankin to beat, but his shot was wide at the far post. On the counterattack, Lewis sent a low strike that was stopped by Bascom. In a sign of things to come, Nowak had a blast that was stopped by RankinÂ's leg in the 81 st minute. Shortly thereafter, Scott Donofrio and Scott Morneault set up Nowak for the game-winning goal, a low roller from the far side. The EngineersÂ' attack was relentless down the stretch, registering three shots, one on goal, and a corner kick, but they were unable to score the equalizer.

  Rankin finished the day with two saves while Bascom collected seven.

Springfield will continue its four-game road swing as it heads to Endicott on Tuesday for a 7:00 pm contest.