BOSTON, Mass. – Little East Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week freshman midfielder Luan Cruz notched his second career goal on a header in the seventh minute and sophomore defender Diego Gisholt's free kick goal in a high action second half propelled UMass Boston Men's Soccer to a 2-0 win over LEC opponent, University of Southern Maine at home on Wednesday afternoon.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 2, Southern Maine 0

UMass Boston (6-2-1, 3-0 LEC)

Southern Maine (2-4-2, 0-3 LEC)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The Beacons quelled an early attack by the Huskies with junior goalkeeper Qasim El-Ashkar making a save on a shot by senior forward Noah Perry and the UMass Boston defense stopped a subsequent shot by junior midfielder Yahya Altaie in the sixth minute. One minute later, a picturesque pass deep into the offensive zone by sophomore defender Luis Spinola led to Cruz's header past senior goalkeeper Hayes Estrella into the open net, giving the Beacons a 1-0 lead.
 
Opportunities would be far and few for the rest of the first half as UMass Boston went into the halftime break with the one goal edge. The Beacons held just a 4-2 edge in shots on goal with the lone goal by Cruz being the only shot to make it on net. Southern Maine recorded two shots on goal, in the opening minutes, before going quiet offensively.
 
The beginning stages of the second half were dominated by the UMass Boston offense which fired off three consecutive shots at Estrella over the course of three minutes before the Huskies dominated possession in the offensive zone.
 
It began in the 60^th minute with a shot from senior defender Ronan Hume that was blocked by the Beacon defense and continued for the next 15 minutes as Southern Maine kept the ball deep in the UMass Boston zone. But the Beacon defense allowed just four shots in the direction of El-Ashkar, only two of which would reach the junior goalkeeper.
 
A free kick awarded to the Beacons in the 77^th minute led to Gisholt's second goal of the season as the sophomore defender bent the ball inside the right post past Estrella to give UMass Boston some breathing room, 2-0. The Huskies would record only one more shot on net the rest of the way as the Beacons finished off their fifth consecutive win.
 
 BY THE NUMBERS

• UMass Boston is 3-0 in Little East Conference play for the first time since the 2016 season when they started 4-0
• The five-game winning streak for the Beacons is their longest since last season when they rattled off seven consecutive wins, including four straight conference victories
• Luan Cruz has now recorded at least a point in five consecutive matches and two points in three of his last five matches
• Diego Gisholt has earned a point in three consecutive matches which includes a goal and two assists

WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston closes out their three-game homestand with a non-conference matchup against Eastern Nazarene College scheduled to get underway at UMB Soccer Field on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM.