Box Score PLYMOUTH, N.H.—UMass Boston seniors Sam Bendick (New Egypt, N.J.) and Natasha Stibor (San Francisco, Calif.) each scored in the first half, to help UMass Boston women's soccer wrap up the third seed in the upcoming Little East Conference Tournament.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 2, Plymouth State 0
(UMass Boston 5-11, 3, Little East 4-2-1)
(Plymouth State 7-8-1, Little East 2-4-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Bendick and Stibor scored within 40 minutes of each other and freshman goalie Alyssa Fugiel (Easthampton, Mass.) made four saves, to help UMass Boston snap their season-long seven-game winless streak (0-5-2).
With the victory, UMass Boston wrapped up the third seed in the Little East Conference Tournament and will host the sixth-seeded Panthers again on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at James Cotter Field.
Bendick opened the scoring just 4:31 into the contest, when she scored her first goal of the season. The senior center back's goal marked her first goal since her freshman season and just the third of her collegiate career in 81 games.
Stibor gave UMass Boston some insurance in the 43rd minute, when she took a pass from Julia Masionis (Milford, Mass.) and dribbled towards the left post, before sneaking a shot past Annaliese Schmidt for a 2-0 advantage.
Fugiel and the Beacons back four took over from there, as the freshman goalie was forced to make just two saves in the second stanza. Senior Jessi Charette (Bedford, Mass.) came on for the final 1:46 for her second appearance of the season and the fifth of her career.
Plymouth State junior goalie Annaliese Schmidt made eight saves on 10 shots in the first 64 minutes, before being replaced by freshman Leandra Nault for the final 26 minutes.
Saturday's contest marked the final home game for Plymouth State's four seniors.
BY THE NUMBERS
- UMass Boston outshot Plymouth State 22-9 and earned a 12-4 advantage on shots on goal.
- The Beacons also earned a 5-4 edge in corner kicks.
- Bendick's goal marked the first goal this season for a UMass Boston defender.
- All five of the Beacons wins this season have come by way of a Fugiel shutout.
- With the win, UMass Boston improved to 7-13-1 all-time against Plymouth State. The Beacons are unbeaten against Plymouth State since 2008 with a record of 7-0-1 and a goal differential of +22 (24-2) during that span.
WHO'S NEXT
These two teams will face-off again in three days time, as #3 UMass Boston hosts #6 Plymouth State on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at James Cotter Field.
