BOSTON, Mass.  – Clutch. That is the word that described UMass Boston Men's Soccer on Thursday afternoon against Eastern Connecticut State University who came back from two one-goal deficits in the second half and overtime to defeat the Warriors and move on to the Little East Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon against top-seeded WestConn or fifth-seeded Rhode Island College.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 4, Eastern Connecticut State University 3  

UMass Boston (10-5-3)

Eastern Connecticut State University (12-6-1)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

The first 45 minutes of play it was the defense of both teams that reigned supreme and kept the game scoreless. That was until the 37^th minute when sophomore midfielder Annilson DePina was taken down in the box by junior goalkeeper Dylan Pallanck which led to a penalty kick for the Beacons.

Freshman forward Nick Braganca would take the penalty kick and place the ball by the right side of Pallanck to give UMass Boston the 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

Both offenses would come alive in the second half and the Warriors would tie the match up at one all in the 53^rd minute of a goal by freshman midfielder Caiden Hettrick-Rivera. On the throw in, freshman forward Cayden Boukas fired on junior goalkeeper Qasim El-Ashkar who deflected the shot to the left side. There to shoot and score was Hettrick-Rivera with the wide-open net for the game-tying goal.

The Warriors would take their first lead of the match in the 81^st minute when freshman defender Lex Edwards bounced the ball into the box and senior midfielder Andres Mayuri spun around and fired the ball into the top left corner of the goal, making it 2-1.

But the Beacons were relentless in a half where they generated 11 shots and would get the equalizer just over three minutes later. A ball sent in by sophomore defender Diego Gisholt would bounce off a couple Eastern defenders and find the foot of freshman midfielder Ryan Lima who froze Pallanck in net and tied the match at two with his shot into the top center of the goal.

In the first 10-minute overtime it would be Mayuri again who struck first for the Warriors. After Boukas kept the ball in the box for Eastern, junior forward Caleb Ennin found Mayuri on the right side of the box who froze El-Ashkar with his shot into the left corner that put the Warriors ahead 3-2.
 
Once again, the Beacons would respond with the first of two overtime goals by junior forward Josh DeAlmeida. On a Gisholt corner kick, DeAlmeida was able to get a piece of the bouncing ball, redirecting it with his head towards the net, and scoring the second game-tying goal for UMass Boston of the match.

With time winding down in the first 10-minute overtime period, the Beacons were whistled for a foul just outside of the box which led to a free kick opportunity by Edwards. Firing past the wall of defenders, the shot by Edwards was tipped out by a diving El-Ashkar to preserve the tie match.

DeAlmeida would give UMass Boston the lead for good in the 106^th minute after sophomore defender Luis Spinola, who entered the game just moments before, set up the forward with a perfect cross pass that he would head past Pallanck for the fourth goal of the match for the Beacons.

With just under 5 minutes remaining in the match, the UMass Boston defense held strong in front of Qasim El-Ashkar, preserving the 4-3 lead, and punching their ticket to the LEC Championship match on Saturday afternoon.

BY THE NUMBERS

• UMass Boston outshot Eastern Connecticut 19-16 and 11-10 in shots on goal
• Seven of the 11 starters for the Beacons played all 110 minutes in the match
• In an aggressive contest by both sides, the Warriors committed 15 fouls to the Beacons' 12 fouls
• This is only the second time in program history the Beacons have won two consecutive matches versus Eastern Connecticut

WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston will play in the Little East Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon against either top-seeded WestConn or five-seeded Rhode Island College. The match between those two teams will play out later tonight and the outcome will decide when and where the Beacons will play on Saturday.