Box Score
BOSTON, Mass.—Seniors Kara Peters (Agawam, Mass.) and Natasha Stibor (San Francisco, Calif.) each scored, to help lead #3 UMass Boston past #6 Plymouth State University 2-0 in the Little East Conference Quarterfinals.
THE BASICS
#3 UMass Boston 2, #6 Plymouth State 0
(UMass Boston 6-11-3, Little East 4-2-1)
(Plymouth State University 7-9-1, Little East 2-4-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
UMass Boston took a 1-0 lead on Peters' first goal of her senior season at 14:47 and then held on through a nervy finish, as freshman goalie Alyssa Fugiel (Easthampton, Mass.) was called upon to stop a penalty kick in the final 10 minutes.
With 7:37 remaining, head referee Leah Hayes whistled the Beacons for a foul inside the box on a hand ball, which sent Plymouth State's Emily Bell to the spot. The senior sent a low hard strike to Fugiel's left, but Fugiel dove and palmed the ball away to keep the score at 1-0.
Stibor added the insurance goal with 1:35 left to play, to seal the Beacons' eight trip to the Little East Conference Semifinals in eight years.
Fugiel earned her conference-leading sixth shutout of the year by making seven saves, including four in the second stanza. Her penalty kick save was the first of her season this year in three tries during regulation, to go along with her penalty kick save in the finals of the Castleton University Tournament.
Plymouth State junior Annaliese Schmidt had another tremendous outing, as the All-Conference netminder stopped 12 of 14 shots for her seventh double-digit save game of the season. In the first half alone, Schmidt made four strong saves to keep the game close.
UMass Boston opened the game red-hot and nearly took the lead twice in the opening 13 minutes. Peters weaved through three defenders into the six-yard box, but Schmidt came out off her line and knocked the shot away to keep the game scoreless at 6:35. Six minutes later, Schmidt dove to slow down Stibor's shot from 16 yards out and then rushed back to pick up the rebound.
UMass Boston finally broke open the scoreless tie at 14:47. Sophomore Kerri Alexander (Carver, Mass.) beat her defender on the far side and dribbled towards the end line, before sending a low dipping cross into the six yards box. Schmidt rushed off her line and attempted to make a diving catch, only to have the ball bounce out of her hands right to Peters, who sent a left-footed shot off the turf for a 1-0 lead.
The Beacons threatened to add to their lead before halftime, but Schmidt made tremendous saves to thwart Sam Bendick (New Egypt, N.J.) in the 39th minute and Alexandria Levesque (Metheun, Mass.) in the 41st minute.
After the Beacons dominated the first half (16-4 in shots, 10-3 on goal), Plymouth State fought their way back into the game and kept the play even in the second half.
Plymouth created several chances for Bell and Hannah Kallis, but every time, Fugiel was able to either make the save, or she came well off her line to break up the play.
Freshman Jaclyn O'Grady (Somers, Conn.) easily could have given the Beacons a 2-0 advantage in the 80th minute, but her rocket of a shot went off the crossbar and off Schmidt's head, before bouncing away from net.
From there, Plymouth State continued to threaten, but couldn't solve Fugiel.
Over the final 10 minutes, the large crowd cheered the Beacons on, as the UMass Boston earned a win in their first-ever home night game.
Stibor put the game away in the 89th minute, thanks to some strong passing from her senior teammates. Peters fed a streaking Nicole McMinamin (Acworth, Ga.) on the far side of the field and the senior cut back and sent a low pass to Stibor, who calmly slotted a shot across the goalmouth for a 2-0 lead.
BY THE NUMBERS
- UMass Boston owned a 22-14 advantage in shots and 14-7 edge in shots on goal.
- The Beacons earned eight of the nine corner kicks in the contest.
- Peters' goal and assist marked the first points of her senior season. The three points tied her career-high for points in a single game.
- Alexander's assist on the game-winning goal, was the first of her collegiate career.
- UMass Boston improved to 8-4-3 all-time in LEC Tournament play, while Plymouth State dropped their 12th-straight game to fall to 2-14.
- Tuesday's meeting was the first-ever meeting between the two teams in LEC Tournament play. UMass Boston improved to 9-13-1 against Plymouth State with the win.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will travel to second-seeded Western Connecticut State University on Thursday at 7 p.m., for the Little East Conference Semifinals. The Colonials earned a 2-1 double-overtime victory against the Beacons in the regular season in Boston.
