PLYMOUTH, N.H. – An early Pedro Dasilva (Fogo, Cape Verde) goal, coupled with a clincher by Elton Teixeira (Fogo, Cape Verde) midway through the second half secured men's soccer a spot in the 2015 Little East Conference title game, as the Beacons defeated Plymouth State University by the final of 2-0 Wednesday afternoon Arold Field in the Little East Conference Tournament semi-final round.

THE BASICS

#3 UMass Boston 2, #2 Plymouth State University 0

UMass Boston (15-4-0)
Plymouth State University (9-7-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED

With their win on Wednesday and 1-0 victory by #4 Rhode Island College over #1 Eastern Connecticut State University, the Beacons will now host their second consecutive conference championship in Boston.  The Beacons will take on the Anchormen on James Cotter Field on Saturday at a time to be determined. 

In the 14^th minute of Wednesday's semi-final match, Dasilva was able to get off one of his best shots of the match, which then deflected off of the Plymouth State goalkeeper.  The ball would then hit the ground and bounce back into the PSU goal to give the Beacons an early 1-0 lead.

UMass would control the pace of play throughout the remainder of the first half and would settle for the 1-0 lead heading into the break.  The second half was a much more physical affair as the two teams battled back-and-forth all over the pitch.

The Beacons would earn multiple free kick opportunities right outside the Panthers goal box, but were unable to convert.  However that changed once Teixeira was given a chance in the 60^th minute.  The Cape Verde native hit a perfectly placed ball to the near post to give the Beacons a huge 2-0 advantage, but with less than 30 minutes to play, the match was far from over.

Plymouth State definitely did not lay down for the Beacons as they put together some impressive chances of-their-own, one of which was a one-timer that just missed its mark.

As time continued to wind down, UMass managed to regain total control of the contest, and nearly put their third and fourth markers on the board before the final horn sounded. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Wednesday's win represented the third postseason win in program history for the Beacons and the second straight Little East Conference semi-final victory for UMB
• UMass Boston avenged their 1-0 OT loss to Plymouth State University, which they suffered in the regular season finale for both teams
• The 15 wins marks a new program best for men's soccer
• Senior Alfonso Rosales (Revere, Mass.) made a total of five saves to earn his second postseason shutout
• UMass had a 11-10 advantage in shots, but the Panthers held a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal
• The two teams were even in corner kicks with 4 and 4

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will host Rhode Island College this Saturday at James Cotter Field on the campus of Boston College High School, with the winner of that match earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.  Saturday's match will mark the second straight year that UMB and RIC have met in the LEC Tournament.  Last season the Beacons defeated RIC 1-0 in the semi-final round to earn the program's first-ever conference tournament victory.