BOSTON, Mass. – With a pair of early first half goals, and the first career shutout by Jessie Tenaglia (Braintree, Mass.), women's soccer closed out their non-conference schedule with a huge 2-0 win over Bridgewater State University Tuesday evening at James Cotter Field.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 2, Bridgewater State University 0

UMass Boston (5-10-2)
Bridgewater State (10-6-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Tenaglia earned her first collegiate shutout thanks to a 15-save performance for the junior goalkeeper.  Battling strong wind gusts all evenings, Tenaglia made some key stops late in the second half to give the Beacons their final non-conference win of the 2017 campaign.

UMass Boston gave their goalkeeper and defense some breathing room early as Kerri Alexander (Carver, Mass.) knocked-in her team-leading seventh goal in the 11^th minute.  Kara Mannion (Berlin, Mass.) assisted on the go-ahead goal as she dropped in a long pass which found Alexander sprinting up the middle of the field.  Alexander would then make a great forward touch which allowed her to push the ball past the Bears Lauren DeSousa.

Less than two minutes later, the Beacons got all the insurance they would need as Madison Grabowski (Easthampton, Mass.) finished off a Katy Clark (Scituate, Mass.) with a one-touch shot to the far post.  With the Bears looking to clear the ball, senior Jessi Beverlin (Eagle River, Alaska) managed to step-in and deflected the ball to Clark.  From there Clark touched the ball to Grabowski who put it away for her fourth goal of her rookie season.

The first half was a back-and-forth battle with the Bears earning a slim edge in shots 11-7. 

After the break, and with the wind at their backs the Bears tried everything in their power to score their first goal of the evening.  The Beacons defense which was solid all night continued to play aggressive throughout the second frame.  Led by Tenaglia the Beacons backline did everything in their power to keep the Bears out of the goalbox and force just long-range shots.

Bridgewater State closed out the final half with 20-5 advantage in shots and led 7-0 in corner kicks. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• All-time UMass Boston is now 6-1-1 against the Bears
• UMass Boston has shutout Bridgewater state a total of three times
• Tuesday's home win over the Bears marked their first since the 2014 season when they earned a 3-2 victory
• Through their eight matches all-time, UMass Boston has outscored the Bears 17-8
• Tenaglia's 15 stops was a season-high for all Beacons goalkeepers
• Tenaglia became just the second goalkeeper this season to earn the complete shutout; Alyssa Fugiel (Easthampton, Mass.) earned the only other complete shutout in the 2-0 win over Wentworth

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will host Western Connecticut State University on Saturday at 1 p.m. on Senior Day.