ONEONTA, N.Y.  – A magical season for UMass Boston Men's Soccer came to an end on Saturday afternoon at Red Dragon Field on the campus of SUNY Oneonta in the First Round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament. Facing off against fellow Massachusetts college, Tufts University, the Beacons fell 1-0 after a free kick goal by freshman midfielder Daniel Yanez in the 75^th minute.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 0, Tufts 1
  
UMass Boston (10-6-3)

Tufts (8-2-7)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Employing a similar strategy as they did against WestConn in the Little East Conference Championship Match, UMass Boston sought to frustrate the Tufts offense by sending more players back onto the defensive end and capitalize off their opponent's mistakes.

In the opening 45 minutes, the Beacon strategy would pay off as the Jumbos would be limited to just two corner kicks and two shots on goal, both of which were easily handled by junior Qasim El-Ashkar in net for UMass Boston.

Changing their offensive approach in the second half, Tufts began firing early and often against El-Ashkar, forcing the Beacons to play on their heels for much of the first 20 minutes of the frame. Firing seven shots on El-Ashkar, the Salem, Massachusetts native proved he was up to the challenge with the variety of headers and line drives he faced.

However, a Beacon foul just outside of the box would lead to optimal field position for Tufts on their free kick opportunity which was taken by Yanez. Curling the ball around the wall of UMass Boston defenders, the shot from Yanez froze El-Ashkar in the center of the goal before falling into the right side of the net to give the Jumbos a 1-0 lead.

Desperately looking for the equalizer in the closing minutes of the game, UMass Boston would have their chance with less than 20 seconds left when sophomore midfielder Annilson DePina weaved between a few defenders before his ground shot on sophomore Erik Lauta was stopped on the left side of the net as the Beacons' season came to a close with the 1-0 defeat.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Qasim El-Ashkar stopped nine of a possible 10 shots in goal for the Beacons in the match
• UMass Boston was outshot 17-3 and 10-1 in shots on goal
• This was the fourth time in program history in which the Beacons have appeared in the NCAA Tournament
• UMass Boston is now 0-4-0 all-time versus Tufts, being held scoreless in all four of those matchups