Box Score
BOSTON, Mass.—Western Connecticut State scored two goals after the 88th minute, to shock host UMass Boston women's soccer on Senior Day.
THE BASICS
Western Connecticut State 2, UMass Boston 1 (2OT)
(UMass Boston 4-10-1, Little East 3-2-0)
(Western Connecticut State 10-5-1, Little East 3-1-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Celia DeVoe scored with 52 seconds remaining in regulation to tie it and Rebecca Rivera scored 1:17 into the second overtime session, to lift the Colonials to a thrilling 2-1 double-overtime win.
UMass Boston senior Natasha Stibor (San Francisco, Calif.) scored the Beacons only goal in the 19th minute and it looked as if it would hold up as the only goal of the game.
Senior Elisa Brooks (San Diego, Calif.) sent a hard shot from 22-yards out that Western goalie Jillian Fernandez palmed off the underside of the crossbar and out. Stibor, who was the only player in the box for either team, calmly collected the loose ball and chipped it over Fernandez's hands for her third goal of the season.
Prior to the contest, UMass Boston honored their eight seniors: Kara Peters (Agawam, Mass.), Kristen Spain (Quincy, Mass.), Alexandria Levesque (Metheun, Mass.), Nicole McMinamin (Acworth, Ga.), Sam Bendick (New Egypt, N.J.), Jessi Charette (Bedford, Mass.), Stibor and Brooks. All eight seniors were inserted into the starting lineup, as the Beacons aimed for their fourth-straight win on Senior Day.
Instead, the Colonials rallied for an improbable win.
After being stymied for most of the first 90 minutes, the Colonials drew a foul 22-yards away from the Beacons goal, with just over a minute left on the clock. Devoe stepped to the ball and after the Beacons pulled back their two-man wall, Devoe sent a low strike towards the near post-that took one bounce through a cluster of on-rushing players and skipped over the hands of UMass Boston goalie Alyssa Fugiel (Easthampton, Mass.).
Neither side produced a good look in the first overtime, but Western Connecticut State put the game away at 101:17. Devoe sent a corner kick into the box that was briefly cleared, but a Colonials defender sent the ball back into the box, where it pinballed around off of three Colonials, before falling for Rivera. Rivera poked it home just over Fugiel, for the Colonials third 2-1 overtime win of the season.
Fugiel who came off the bench for the Beacons, recorded seven saves on nine shots in 100:47 of action. Fernandez on the other side made five saves on six shots, to improve to 10-5-1.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Western Connecticut State outshot the Beacons 17-10 and nine to six on shots on goal. The Colonials also held a seven to four edge in corners.
- Senior goalie Jessi Charette (Bedford, Mass.) made her first collegiate start in the loss. The start also marked her first appearance since November 2, 2013.
- Brooks led the Beacons with four shots and three shots on goal. Her assist marked her first assist as a Beacon in two seasons.
- The loss dropped the Class of 2015 to 30-3-3 over the past four seasons at home.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will play their first of four-straight road games to close out the regular season on Tuesday, when they travel to Tufts University at 3 p.m.
