PLYMOUTH, N.H.—Men's soccer scored two goals in the final 11 minutes to down host Plymouth State University 2-0 in conference action on Saturday afternoon.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 2, Plymouth State 0
(UMass Boston 5-2, Little East 1-1)
(Plymouth State 0-5, Little East 0-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Seniors
Cam Pattison (Cohasset, Mass.) and
Nilton de Andrade (Fogo, Cape Verde) each scored for the Beacons who earned their first Little East Conference win of the season.
Freshman keeper
JJ Devine (Halifax, Mass.) made one save to earn his first collegiate conference win and shutout.
The teams went back-and-forth through the first half, but neither offense was able to break the ice. The game got physical during the second half as UMass Boston controlled the tempo, but PSU's back line was able to hold until late.
The two sides traded punches through the first half, with the Panthers' best opportunity coming in the 10th minute when junior Milian Eklund volleyed a Beacons' clearance attempt from 40-yards out but the shot carried just over the crossbar.
UMass Boston countered a minute later, but sophomore Nicolas Cornejo made a sprawling save.
Sophomore Sean Kern nearly put the Panthers ahead in the 46th minute when his header off a cross from classmate Faisal Abdallah was headed to the top left corner, but Devine came up with a clutch save.
UMass Boston missed a golden opportunity in the 49th minute. Cornejo got a hand on a cross but the rebound went directly to de Andrade at the six. Cornejo recovered to make a brilliant stop from the ground and the Panthers were able to clear the ball away.
The Beacons broke through in the 80th minute when de Andrade sent a ball to classmate Pattison down the right side and Pattison came into the box and tucked a shot inside the near post.
de Andrade doubled the lead in the 85th minute on a free kick from 20-yards out that curled inside the left post.
BY THE NUMBERS
• UMass Boston outshot the Panthers 15-4 and earned an 8-1 advantage in shots on goal and 14-1 lead in corner kicks.
• de Andrade leads the league with nine goals on the season. This week alone, he scored four goals and added two assists.
• Cornejo finished with six saves for the Panthers.
• UMass Boston is unbeaten in their last six meetings with Plymouth State (4-0-2). The Beacons have allowed just one goal in those meetings and improved to 10-27-7 all-time against the Panthers.
• After not scoring in his first 11 collegiate contests, Pattison has now scored in back-to-back games and is tied for second on the Beacons in goals this year.
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will look for their third-straight victory, when they travel to take on the University of Southern Maine on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
PARTS OF THIS RELEASE COURTESY OF PLYMOUTH STATE SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
