Box Score
BOSTON, Mass.—Senior forward Krista Ledin (Bridgewater, Mass.) became the first player in Little East Conference to reach 200 career points with her first of three goals and UMass Boston women's soccer (6-2-3) rolled to a 6-1 victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology (5-6-1) Tuesday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center Field.
The two-time Little East Conference Offensive Player of the Year reached the 200-point mark at 29:22 with her 88th career goal, to become the only active player in Division I, II or III to have 200 or more career points. She later added two more markers to bring her career totals to 90 goals and 25 assists.
Ledin needs just four more goals and 18 total points to move into the top-25 in the Division III women's soccer record books. The hat trick marked the eighth of her career and her 27th multiple-goal contest as a Beacon.
Tuesday's victory also marked the 100th career win for head coach Amy Zombeck. The 10th-year head coach has led UMass Boston to back-to-back Little East Conference Regular Season Titles and their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2012. She carries an all-time record of 100-77-16.
Reigning Little East Conference Rookie of the Week Marina Kelly tacked on three assists to move into first-place in the LEC with six on the year. Seniors Ericka Garufi (Milton, Mass.) and Amanda Pugliese (Pembroke, Mass.) and junior Natasha Stibor (San Fransico, Calif.) all added tallies for the Beacons who extended their unbeaten streak to six in a row (5-0-1).
Senior goalie Dani Perkins (Murrieta, Calif.) picked up the win by making four saves on five shots. Junior Kristen Spain (Quincy, Mass.) added five saves over the final 30 minutes in her first action in net since September 13.
Valerie Zapata added her team-leading eight goal of the season for Wentworth, who saw their winless streak extend to five (0-4-1).
Goaltender Beverly Farris stopped four of the 10 shots she faced in the loss.
After a scoreless first 13 minutes, UMass Boston struck for three goals in a five-minute span to put the Leopards away early.
Garufi opened the scoring when she took a pass from Kelly and dribbled by an onrushing Farris, before gently tapping the ball home for her fourth goal of the year.
UMass Boston made it 2-0 at the 15:56 mark, when Stibor jammed home her own rebound off of a Beacons' corner kick. And Pugliese completed the trifecta exactly five minutes after the first goal, when the senior lofted a hard shot from 25-yards out past Farris to make it 3-0 Beacons at 18:56.
That set-up Ledin's theatrics, as the senior was determined to reach 200 points in front of the home crowd.
The senior reached the mark at 29:22 when she took a pass from Kelly and beat two defenders before chipping a shot over Farris for points 200 and 201.
Ledin sandwiched two more goals in the second half around Zapata's strike, to move within 10 goals of 100 for her career.
UMass Boston will play Western Connecticut State Saturday at 1 p.m. in a matchup of the only two 3-0 teams in Little East play.
