BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman midfielder Matt Spiller scored the lone goal for Castleton University on the road against UMass Boston Men's Soccer as the Beacons fell, 1-0, in their final regular season match on the 2022 campaign.
THE BASICS
UMass Boston 0, Castleton 1
UMass Boston (9-5-2, LEC 6-2-0)
Castleton (7-9-2, LEC 3-4-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Beacons came out of the gate aggressive, rattling off the first five shots of the match, including one on goal by sophomore midfielder
Annilson DePina on senior goalkeeper Andres Soto-Burgos which was turned away.
The first Castleton shot would not come until the 16
th minute of the contest as junior goalkeeper
Qasim El-Ashkar denied the scoring attempt by sophomore midfielder Toby Ritzkowski. Over the final 25 minutes of the opening half, each team would generate a combined three scoring attempts with both goalkeepers holding strong.
In the 55
th minute of play, Spiller would break the tie after a turnover in the defense end by the Beacons led to the freshman streaking in the other direction between two defenders. Spiller fired into the high right side of the net past El-Ashkar to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead.
UMass Boston would muster up four more chances on Soto-Burgos, but the senior would stop them all as the Beacons fell 1-0 at home.
BY THE NUMBERS
- UMass Boston held a 30-8 margin in shots and 7-6 edge on Castleton in shots on goal
- Qasim El-Ashkar made fives saves in net for the Beacons on six shots
- Andres Soto-Burgos corralled all seven shots he encountered for the Spartans
- This was the first loss UMass Boston has had against Castleton in the head-to-head history, winning the first three by a 14-0 margin
WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston looks towards the Little East Conference Tournament as they own a first-round bye as the two seed in the tournament. The Beacons will await the winner of the three seed versus six seed matchup on Tuesday before playing the semifinals match at home on Thursday at 1:00 PM.
