MANCHESTER, N.H. --  Sophomore goalkeeper Isabella O'Connell (Abington, Mass.) made her first collegiate start in net for the Beacons, making a career-high 11 saves against 13 shots on goal in UMass Boston's 1-0 loss to Middlebury College in a game played at Southern New Hampshire State University.  

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 0, Middlebury College 1

UMass Boston (0-2-1)

Middlebury College (1-0-0)

 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sophomore midfielder Sophia Cole registered the only goal of the game in the 8th minute of play beating O'Connell in net after receiving a pass from junior midfielder Emma Binks with an offensive chance on the Beacon side of the field. 

UMass Boston was unable to record a shot in the first 45 minutes, getting outshot by the Panthers, 18-0 and 7-0 in shots on goal. 

O'Connell continued her strong first start in a Beacon uniform by holding Middlebury College in check during the second half. As the Panthers continued to pepper the Abington native with shots, O'Connell turned away a penalty kick opportunity in the 60th minute and five more subsequent attempts her way by the Middlebury offense. 

Keeping the deficit at one, the Beacons would register their first shot on goal in the 87th minute from graduate midfielder Dani Anderson (St. Augustine, Fla.) giving UMass Boston a chance to escape with a tie. Anderson's shot was stopped in the top right corner by sophomore goalkeeper Sydney Poppinga, preventing the Beacons from scoring and handing them a 1-0 loss in the neutral site tilt. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• This was Isabella O'Connell's first collegiate start for the Beacons, appearing in only one game last season against Salve Regina in which she played 30 minutes in a 6-2 win
• Middlebury College outshot the Beacons 35-2 in the match and 13-1 in shots on goal
• Corner kicks went in favor of the Panthers by a margin of 9-1 
• This was the first matchup between UMass Boston and Middlebury College in program history 

WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will return home to UMB Soccer Field on Saturday morning for a 10:00 AM matchup against Caltech. This will be the first meeting in program history between the two teams.