Box Score DANBURY, Conn.—Despite a career-high 17 saves from freshman goalie Alyssa Fugiel (Easthampton, Mass.), #3 UMass Boston women's soccer fell just short in the Little East Conference Semifinals, in a 1-0 loss to second-seeded Western Connecticut State University.
THE BASICS
#2 Western Connecticut State University 1, #3 UMass Boston 0
(UMass Boston 6-12-3)
(Western Connecticut State 15-5-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Senior back Rebecca Rivera scored her second game-winning goal of the season against UMass Boston in the 59th minute, to send the Colonials back to the LEC Title Game for the first time since 2013.
The Colonials will host defending LEC Tournament Champion Keene State College on Saturday at a time to be announced, after the fifth-seeded Owls downed #1 Eastern Connecticut State University 2-1 earlier on Thursday.
With the loss, UMass Boston ends their season at 6-12-3. The contest marks the final game in the career of UMass Boston's eight seniors: Sam Bendick (New Egypt, N.J.), Elisa Brooks (San Diego, Calif.), Jessi Charette (Bedford, Mass.), Alexandria Levesque (Metheun, Mass.), Nicole McMinamin (Acworth, Ga.), Kara Peters (Agawam, Mass.), Kristen Spain (Quincy, Mass.) and Natasha Stibor (San Francisco, Calif.).
Western Connecticut State dominated possession and chances throughout the contest, but struggled to find the back of the net thanks to the strong play of Fugiel. Fugiel stopped nine shots in the first half and eight more in the second, including stopping a penalty kick for the second-consecutive game.
The freshman goalie ends her first season with a program-record .876 save percentage for a single season and ranks fifth with her 176 saves and sixth with her 1.24 goals against average.
Fugiel was called upon to make her first big stop of the game in the fifth minute, as she jumped on top of a hard strike from Autumn Sorice to keep the game scoreless.
The Colonials appeared to take a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute, but Western Connecticut State's goal off a corner kick was waived off, after the Colonials were whistled for a hand ball.
In the 24th minute, Western Connecticut State was awarded a penalty kick, after a Colonial was taken down in the box. Rivera sent a low strike towards the right side of the goal, but Fugiel dove across and blocked the shot, to stop her third PK attempt of the year.
UMass Boston earned one of their best chances of the game just 8:39 into the second half. After they earned a corner kick, Carly Robinson (Pittsfield, Mass.) sent a ball to the top of the box that Peters got on the end of, but her hard half-volley was stopped on the way through by a Colonials defender.
The Colonials grabbed the lead just five minutes later, off a corner kick of their own. Celia Devoe's corner kick bounced around the Beacons' box, before Rivera fired a low shot past Fugiel for her second goal of the year against the Beacons.
UMass Boston managed three shots down the stretch, but Stibor and Bendick's shots were saved by Jillian Fernandez, and Peters' look was blocked by a defender.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Western Connecticut State outshot the Beacons 30-6 and earned a 19-3 edge in shots on goal.
- The Colonials also carried a 7-2 advantage on corner kicks.
- Western Connecticut State improved to 22-3 all-time against the Beacons and 3-1 in postseason play.
- Fernandez earned her sixth shutout of the season, by making two saves.
- Bendick ends her career eighth in program history with her 83 career games played.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will look towards 2016, as UMass Boston is set to return 14 players from this year's roster.
