Springfield, Mass. - October 24, 2015 - Freshman midfielder Alex Haji (Shrewsbury, Mass.) scored with 10:01 remaining in the contest to cut the Pride's deficit to one, but the Springfield College men's soccer program fell to No. 21 MIT, 3-2, on Brock-Affleck Field on Saturday afternoon.

With the loss, Springfield falls 11-3-1 on the season, with a 3-2-1 mark in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play. With the win, MIT, which was ranked No. 21 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division III men's soccer national rankings, improves to 13-1-1 overall and 6-0 in league play.

The Engineers, which only allowed five goals throughout the entire season, gave up two to Springfield, as Haji and classmate Christian Schneider (Shelton, Conn.) both found the back of the net for the Pride. Additionally, junior forward Luke Alvaro (Chicopee, Mass.) posted two assists on the afternoon.

Senior goalkeeper Billy Schmid (Wethersfield, Conn.) finished the game with two stops, while for the Engineers, Jake Amereno (Commack, N.Y.) posted a pair of saves in the win. MIT held an 12-10 advantage in shots and 8-6 margin in corner kicks.

It didn't take long for the Pride to get on the scoreboard, as Schneider took a pass from Alvaro on the left flank and floated a shot over the head of Amereno and into the right side of the net to give Springfield a 1-0 edge just 4:06 into the game.

MIT quickly pulled even when senior midfielder Sean Bingham (Garden City, N.Y.) took a pass from Wesley Woo (Palo Alto, Calif.) and placed a shot past Schmid to make it 1-1 with 29:50 left in the opening half. Bingham registered his league-leading 16th goal of the season after collecting a ball in the box and finding the back of the net to give the Engineers a 2-1 lead heading into the halftime break.

Back-and-forth play highlighted the beginning of the second half, until the Engineers took a two-goal lead over the Pride with 20:46 left to play, as Austin Freel (San Diego, Calif.) played in a corner kick that snuck its way across the goal mouth, only to be contained by Joe Schuman (West Hartford, Conn.), who tapped it past Schmid to put MIT up 3-1.

Springfield never gave up, as with just over 10 minutes remaining, Douglas Enga (Syosset, N.Y.) raced to a loose ball in the right corner of the field and drilled a pass into the box. Alvaro caught the pass and touched it quickly to Haji, who found the back of the net to cut the Pride's deficit to one.

Up next, Springfield will return to Brock-Affleck Field on Tuesday, October 27 when it will take on Fitchburg State at 5 p.m.