WORCESTER, Mass. – WPI senior Emily Pearce (Avon, CT) scored in the final home game of her career, helping to lift WPI to a 2-0 victory over Simmons on Wednesday evening at Alumni Field. With the win, WPI is now 10-6 while the Sharks fall to 9-10.

WPI's Megan Read (Wrentham, MA) got the Engineers up on the board early when she recovered her own shot and slipped it past Simmons goalkeeper Renna Smith (Belfast, Maine) with just over eight minutes into the game, putting the Crimson and Gray up 1-0.

Read's goal would be the only score of the first half, as the Sharks battled in front of the WPI's net but were denied.

WPI's offense would find the back of the net again 6:27 into the second period, as Pearce took control of the ball during a scramble in front of the net, slapping the shot in with an assist from Celena Dopart (Washington, DC).

It was all WPI would need, as a strong defensive effort stymied the Sharks for much of the game. Sharks sophomore Monica Doucette (Rockport, ME), Katelyn Tighe (Easton, MA) and Seneca Martensson (East Longmeadow, MA) each had a shot on goal for Simmons.

Engineer keeper Liz Dufresne (Worcester, MA) finished with three saves, picking up her third shutout of the season. Sharks keeper Renna Smith tallied three saves in the loss.

Simmons has qualified for the NAC conference playoffs and will visit regionally ranked Saint Joseph's (ME) in a quarterfinal matchup on Saturday in a 2:00 p.m. game. WPI wraps up its regular season against Smith on Saturday in a 1pm contest.