BOSTON, Mass.—Junior Vangjel Gjergo (Korçë, Albania) scored their first brace of his collegiate career to lead UMass Boston men's soccer to a dominant 4-0 conference win over visiting UMass Dartmouth on Wednesday night.
 
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 4, UMass Dartmouth 0
(UMass Boston 10-2, Little East 4-1) 
(UMass Dartmouth 5-4-2, Little East 2-2-1) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Gjergo scored twice in the opening 9:19 to help the Beacons extend their winning streak to seven in a row. 
 
Senior midfielder Nilton de Andrade (Fogo, Cape Verde) added his league-leading 14^th goal of the season and sophomore Shaine Mullaney (Rutland, Mass.) closed out the scoring with his first collegiate goal. 
 
Senior midfielder Cristian Suvak (Winchester, Mass.) paced the Beacons with a pair of assists in the win. Fellow senior Gerardo Castaneda (Providence, R.I.) chipped in an assist of his own. 
 
In net, junior keeper Qasim El-Ashkar (Salem, Mass.) made two saves to earn his first 90-minute shutout as a Beacon. 
 
Corsairs senior goalie Jake Castro allowed three goals on three shots on goal in the opening 73 minutes of action. Sophomore backup Jack Waterhouse came on for the final 17 minutes and stopped two of the three shots he faced. 
 
After a quiet first seven minutes, the Beacons struck for two goals in 79 seconds to shock the visitors. 
 
Suvak played Gjergo in behind the defense on the right side of the field and Gjergo stunned Castro when he immediately drove a shot from distance that snuck just inside the near post for a 1-0 lead eight minutes in. 
 
The junior made it 2-0 1:19 later. Leo Herrera (San Pedro Sula, Honduras) started the play when he sprayed the ball down the sideline to Castaneda in space. Castaneda drove to the goal line and then cut it back for Gjergo who easily finished across the goalmouth from in close. 
 
UMass Dartmouth kept the Beacons at bay until the 59^th minute. Suvak found de Andrade in space at the top of the 18 and the Beacons midfielder dribbled past a defender before ripping a right-footed shot just past Castro. 
 
The Beacons closed out the scoring in the 84^th minute. Off a Beacons corner kick, de Andrade looped a cross to the far side of the box for Mullaney. The sophomore's first shot was parried away by Waterhouse, he retrieved his own rebound but the shot went off a Corsairs back and he finally pounced on the loose ball at the back post for an easy finish. 
 
UMass Dartmouth created slightly better chances in the second half. Arlo Grey had the best look for the Corsairs, but his shot from 20-yards out was easily scooped up by El-Ashkar. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• The Beacons earned a 15-7 edge in shots and 7-2 lead in shots on goal. UMass Boston also led 10-5 on corner kicks. 
• Gjergo's two goals were the second and third goals of his collegiate career. 
• With the win, the Beacons now have the third-longest winning streak in program history. The Beacons seven-straight wins is three behind the program mark set by both the 2015 and 2016 teams. 
• The Beacons moved into a four-way tie for first-place with the victory. UMass Boston, Western Connecticut State University and Eastern Connecticut State University all have 12 points in five LEC games, while Rhode Island College has 12 points in six games. 
• Suvak has now recorded three assists in the past two games. His assist on Saturday against Rhode Island College was his first collegiate point in his 26^th collegiate appearance. 
• UMass Boston has now won seven-straight over the Corsairs. The Beacons have shut out the Corsairs in six of those matchups and outscored UMass Dartmouth 24-2. 
• Freshman Jaylon Darosa (Brockton, Mass.) made his collegiate debut in the victory. 

WHO'S NEXT 
 
UMass Boston will travel to Keene State College on Saturday at 1 p.m. for a key conference matchup.