BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Freshman midfielder Luan Cruz could not have picked a better time to net his first collegiate goal, rattling home a header into the left side of the goal mouth with under 30 seconds left as Men's Soccer downed Bridgewater State University on the road, 2-1, on Monday night.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 2, Bridgewater State University 1

UMass Boston (4-2-1)

Bridgewater State University (1-4-1)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a chippy and aggressive first half for both teams that led to lots of physical play, but only 10 combined fouls (six for UMass Boston and four for Bridgewater State). Sophomore defender Jack O'Toole was the first to register a shot on net for the Bears but was turned away by Qasim El-Ashkar in the 12^th minute. The aggressive Beacons would go on to apply pressure against Bridgewater State on the offensive side of the ball, leading to five corner kicks and three shots (one on goal) over the course of four minutes.
 
Eventually it would be freshman Ryan Lima who broke through for the Beacons on a free kick in the 38^th minute. Lima would fire a shot towards the net and a redirect by a Bears' defender in front allowed the ball to go past senior goalkeeper William Russell in net, giving UMass Boston the 1-0 advantage which they would hold onto heading into the halftime break.
 
It would be Bridgewater State's turn to go on the offensive to begin the second half as the Bears forced El-Ashkar to make two quick saves over the course of a minute to keep the Beacons in front. In the first 12 minutes alone, the Bears would fire four shots on goal, all turned away by the Salem, Massachusetts native.
 
Freshman forward Nick Braganca had a chance to extend the UMass Boston lead to two goals in the 62^nd minute, but a kick save by Russell helped keep the Bears in the game and the score at 1-0 in favor of the Beacons.
 
In the waning moments of the match, junior midfielder Ethan DeMelo netted the equalizer for the Bears, after a throw-in by senior midfielder Joseph Madden Jr. resulted in DeMelo putting the ball past El-Ashkar in the left side of the net, making it 1-1 in the 87^th minute.
 
Over the final two minutes of play, it would be the Beacons turn to apply pressure as they generated three corner kicks and two shots on goal before Cruz came through with the game-winning goal.
 
With under 30 seconds left, sophomore defender Diego Gisholt took a corner kick from the left side of the pitch which found the foot of Cruz. In between a flurry of defenders, Cruz managed to find some open space and get the ball past Russell as UMass Boston won their third consecutive match, 2-1.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• The three-game win streak is the longest for UMass Boston since their seven-game win streak last season, prior to the streak last year, the Beacons were 3-2-0
• Both teams made eight saves in the match, UMass Boston held a 9-2 edge in shots in the first half before Bridgewater State won the second half 15-9
• The offense of the Beacons generated 14 corner kicks in the match compared to only six for the Bears
• The Beacons finish their seven-game road trip to start the season with a 4-2-1 record

WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston plays their first home game of the 2022 season and first of three home games over the next week, against Plymouth State University on Saturday at Noon. The match will be played at UMB Soccer Field, located behind Monan Park and adjacent to the BC High football field.