BOSTON, Mass. – After a tight first half, the top-seeded Beacons combined for nine goals, while holding fifth-seeded Plymouth State University to just three goals over the final two quarters to earn a 17-9 win in the Little East Conference Semi-Final round Thursday evening at James Cotter Field.

THE BASICS

#1 UMass Boston 17, #5 Plymouth State University 9

UMass Boston (8-0)
Plymouth State University (4-5)

HOW IT HAPPENED

With Thursday's win, the Beacons secured a spot and will host the conference championship game this Saturday at 4 p.m. on their home field.  The Beacons will take on the third-seeded WestConn with the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.

UMass Boston will be making their second appearance in the title game since 2017, and third since 2001.  Saturday's contest will mark just the second time that WestConn has made it to the title game. Their first was in 2008 when they won the conference championship.

The Beacons grabbed a five-goal lead thanks to a 3-0 run through the first 10 minutes of play. After the lone goal from the Panthers, UMB ended the third with a score from Robert Sprague (Wakefield, Mass.). 

Plymouth State would make it a four-goal affair early in the fourth, but the Beacons would seal the win as they unloaded five-straight.  Gavin Admirand (Marshfield, Mass.) netted three of the five tallies, while Donovan Prozinski (Ashland, Mass.) and Conor Lenfest (Waltham, Mass.) each found the back of the cage.

Lenfest led UMB with six assists, to cap-off an eight point day, while Admirand finished with nine points in the tournament victory.

Between the pipes, Christian Meinhold (Boxborough, Mass.) was once again solid in his LEC Tournament debut as he made nine saves.  His Plymouth State counterpart, Robert Porter registered an impressive 18 stops in the loss.
Jack Dobrzynski (West Greenwich, R.I.) finished 24-for-28 on the face-off dot and had 17 ground balls. 

In the opening frame, the teams traded goals with neither gaining the advantage.  They would exchange goals throughout the first half of the second quarter.  UMB would close out the frame with a pair of goals to take a slim 8-6 lead into the break.

BY THE NUMBERS

• The Beacons have now won two-straight over the Panthers
• The tournament win was their first over Plymouth State since May 4, 2017 when they earned a 14-6 victory
• Saturday's championship game will mark the first time in program history that the Beacons will host the title game since joining the LEC. 

WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will face WestConn on Saturday at 4 p.m. at James Cotter Field.