Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn.—Host Eastern Connecticut State University used a pair of penalty kick goals, to knock off UMass Boston women's soccer 2-1 Saturday afternoon, in a matchup of the final two undefeated teams in Little East Conference play.
THE BASICS
Eastern Connecticut State 2, UMass Boston 1
(UMass Boston 4-8-1, 3-1-0 Little East)
(Eastern Connecticut State 8-3-1, 4-0-0 Little East)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sophomore forward Emily Becher converted on a first-half penalty kick and drew the foul for the Warrior's second-half penalty attempt, as Eastern Connecticut defended their home field in a matchup of two 3-0 teams in LEC play.
The sophomore recorded her league-leading 10th goal of the season at 28:39, while Jamie Belden added her third goal of the year at 51:14.
UMass Boston freshman goalie Alyssa Fugiel (Easthampton, Mass.) made 10 saves in her first conference loss, after posting three-straight shutouts to open up Little East play. Fugiel's 11 saves marked the second-most of her career, after she made 13 saves in a 1-0 loss at nationally-ranked Brandeis University on September 12.
Freshman Jaclyn O'Grady (Somers, Conn.) gave UMass Boston late life, as the freshman scored her team-leading fifth goal of the season at 81:09. After a hard shot from Natasha Stibor (San Francisco, Calif.) forced Warriors goalie Rachel Skelton to make a diving save, O'Grady collected the rebound and calmly lifted the shot over a defender on the goal line.
Despite several forays just outside the box in the waning minutes, UMass Boston failed to put together a scoring chance in the final minutes.
O'Grady led the Beacons with two shots and two shots on goal.
Skelton made three saves on five shots in the victory.
BY THE NUMBERS
- With the victory, Eastern snapped a two-game losing streak against UMass Boston and improved to 20-3-2 all-time against the Beacons.
- Senior captain Elisa Brooks (San Diego, Calif.) made her return to the lineup after missing five-straight games. The center back played in the central midfield at points in the second half.
- Fugiel has now made five or more saves in all 12 of her collegiate appearances.
- Eastern Connecticut State outshot UMass Boston 18-11 and 11-5 in shots on goal. The Beacons held a 3-0 advantage in corner kicks.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will travel to Colby-Sawyer College Wednesday at 3 p.m. for a non-conference contest. The Beacons will look to snap their eight-game non-conference winless streak, when they take on the Chargers.
