BOSTON, Mass.—Three different Beacons scored to lead UMass Boston men's soccer past visiting Worcester State University 3-0 on Wednesday night at James Cotter Field.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 3, Worcester State University 0
(UMass Boston 3-1)
(Worcester State University 0-3-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
UMass Boston opened the scoring just 3:53 into the contest and limited the Lancers to one shot on goal in their third-straight home victory.
Senior
Nilton de Andrade (Fogo, Cape Verde) scored his team-leading fifth goal, and third game-winning goal, along with an assist to lead the Beacons.
Junior
Josh DeAlmeida (Revere, Mass.) and sophomore
Denilson Goncalves (Fogo, Cape Verde) each scored their first collegiate goals in the victory.
In net, freshman
JJ Devine (Halifax, Mass.) and junior
Qasim El-Ashkar (Salem, Mass.) split the two halves, with Devine coming away with the lone Beacons save.
Worcester State sophomore keeper Andy Ramirez made five saves in the loss.
The Beacons jumped all over the Lancers early, with UMass Boston scoring on their first shot of the game.
De Andrade and
Riven Rodrigues (Brockton, Mass.) played a perfect give-and-go with the final pass leaving de Andrade one-on-one with the keeper for an easy right-footed finish.
The Beacons doubled their advantage at 24:05. This time it was de Andrade serving as the playmaker, as his lead pass found DeAlmeida in all alone and the junior easily slotted home past the on-rushing keeper.
UMass Boston continued to look for more goals, but several free kick chances were easily saved or went high and de Andrade's shot in the final minute of the half went off the crossbar.
The Beacons added an insurance goal in the 80
th minute. Senior
Yuran Teixeira (Praia, Cape Verde) sent a looping ball into the box that was parried away by Ramirez, but the ball fell right to Goncalves who's left-footed volley found the back of the net.
BY THE NUMBERS
- UMass Boston outshot the Lancers 17-8 and held an 8-1 edge in shots on goal.
- With the win, UMass Boston improved to 8-3 all-time against Worcester State. The Beacons have won the last five meetings between the two sides.
- Freshmen Isaiah Stessman (Sharon, Mass.) and Logan Erickson Potter (Swansea, Mass.) each made their collegiate debuts in the victory. Sophomore transfer Shaine Mullaney (Rutland, Mass.) made his Beacons debut, after starting his career at Division I Merrimack College.
- UMass Boston is 3-0 at home for the second-consecutive season. The Beacons finished the 2019 campaign 6-1-1 at James Cotter Field.
WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will open Little East Conference play on Saturday when they host rival Eastern Connecticut State University at 4 p.m. The two teams were picked to finish first and second in the LEC Preseason Coaches' Poll, with the Warriors edging out the Beacons by a single point.
