Mehaya Orchestrates Men's Soccer 2-1 Comeback at MIT

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Suffolk men's soccer used a pair of late goals from Mohamed Mehaya to stage a comeback, as the freshman's brace lifted the Rams to a 2-1 victory over MIT Wednesday night at Roberts Field.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 2 | MIT 1
RECORDS: Suffolk (4-2-2) | MIT (2-4-2)  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• MIT opened the scoring in the 16th minute when Shikkhar Motoupally intercepted a pass in the midfield, carried the ball down the right wing, cut inside to his left foot, and curled a strike into the top-right corner from 25 yards out.
• Ian Caldwell came up with a last-ditch kick save in the 65th minute to deny Colin Kamhi and keep the Engineers from doubling their lead.
• Carter Van Buskirk ignited a Suffolk counterattack in the 72nd minute. The senior slipped a ball ahead to Zach Vlachos, who delivered a cross that Christian Gardner flicked on for Mehaya to head home the equalizer.
• Mehaya secured his second of the night and the late winner in the 88th minute as he pounced on a deflected ball, cut inside onto his left foot, and slotted his shot into the bottom right corner.

KEEPING UP WITH THE KEEPERS

• Caldwell tallied six saves to secure his second win of the season. 
• Paolo Mangiafico handled the opening 45 minutes for the Engineers. He made two saves to keep a cleansheet in the first half.
• Hernando Ardila added two saves on his four shots faced in the second half. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Mehaya was responsible for both of Suffolk's strikes. 
• Gardner and Vlachos dished out one assist each. 
• Shots were nearly even, with MIT holding a slight 15-14 edge, including 7-6 on target.
• The Engineers also owned a 4-2 in corner kicks.
• Valck paced the Rams with five shot attempts, while Mehaya put all four of his efforts on frame. 

NOTEWORTHY

• The Rams and Engineers met for the seventh time.
• The win, the first since Sept. 27, 2023,  moves the Rams to 4-6-1 in the series that dates to 1946. 
• Suffolk has won three of the past four meetings against the Engineers.
• The blue-and-gold is now 2-3-0 at MIT since 2015. 
• Suffolk moves to 3-2-0 under head coach Bill Maddock when squaring off against MIT.
• Mehaya registered his first collegiate multi-goal performance and has scored in four of his last five outings. He produced personal-best in points (4) and goals scored (2). 
• Vlachos recorded his first assist in a Suffolk uniform.
• Caldwell posted a career-high six saves.  

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk returns to Conference of New England (CNE) competition Saturday, Sept. 27 when it hosts Curry at 3 p.m. at James A. Sartori Stadium at East Boston Memorial Park. The contest serves as the finale of a blue-and-gold doubleheader that is part of RamFest during Suffolk Weekend.