Box Score BRISTOL, R.I.—Freshman Ocane Williamson (Spanish Town, Jamaica) and junior Marcelo Cunha (Goiania, Brazil) each scored to lead UMass Boston men's soccer to a 2-0 shutout of host Roger Williams University in Thursday night's season opener.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 2, Roger Williams 0
(UMass Boston 1-0)
(Roger Williams 0-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Beacons needed just 4:22 to strike for their first goal of the season and then calmly dominated the hosts over the final 85 minutes.
Williamson and Cunha both placed headers into the corner of the net, as UMass Boston moved to 2-2 on Opening Day under head coach Jake Beverlin.
Senior Matheus Reis (Espirito Santo, Brazil) and juniors Daniel Morales (San Diego, Calif.) and Calvin Smick (Wilmington, Del.) each picked up assists in the win.
Freshman goalie Omar Castro-Dreher (Woonsocket, R.I.) earned the start on Opening Day and stopped three shots to record his first collegiate win and shutout.
Roger Williams freshman goalie Edmund Geschickter made four saves of his own in the loss.
UMass Boston grabbed the lead just 4:22 into the game on some strong combination play. Reis pushed the ball down the left sideline and fed a streaking Morales; Morales took two touches, before sending a cross directly into the path of Williamson-who easily beat Geschickter with a perfectly-placed header.
After battling back-and-forth in the midfield over the next 70 minutes, Cunha gave the Beacons a huge insurance goal in the 79th minute. After a Williamson shot was blocked inside the box, the Beacons took advantage of the ensuing corner kick. Smick sent a bending ball towards the back post and Cunha headed it down just inside the post.
BY THE NUMBERS
- UMass Boston outshot the Hawks 21-11 and held a 3-1 advantage on corner kicks.
- With two more games in the next four days, UMass Boston played 24 players in their opener.
- Five of the 11 Beacons starters were making their Beacon debut, including four who made their collegiate debut.
- UMass Boston had seven new faces total make their collegiate debut.
- Cunha and Castro-Dreher were the lone two Beacons to play the full 90 minutes.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will play another foe from the Commonwealth Coast Conference, when they travel to Wentworth Institute of Technology on Saturday at 10 a.m.
