BOSTON, Mass. - UMass Boston Women's Soccer opened up Little East Conference play with a bang on Friday night, battling Plymouth State to the tune of a 2-1 victory at James Cotter Field.

THE BASICS
UMass Boston 2, Plymouth State University 1

UMass Boston (2-2-1, 1-0-0 LEC)
Plymouth State University (1-3-2, 0-1-0 LEC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
As they tend to do when playing at home, head coach Amy Zombeck's squad got off to a fast start on Friday night. With less than 20 minutes ticked off the clock, Caileigh Sullivan converted a corner kick opportunity into her second assist of the young season. The high-arching crosser found the foot of Andrea Rivera who booted the pass into the net for her third goal of the year.

The Beacons' offense continued to attack throughout the first half but could not find their second goal, sending them into halftime with a 1-0 lead.

Playing in her first game since 2021 due to an injury, UMass Boston's Georgia Bonney served a ball into the box off a freekick which found the foot of sophomore midfielder, Andrea Rivera. Rivera, who had no angle for a shot, played the ball back to Callia Eaton who placed the ball into the back of the net to give the Beacons a 2-0 lead.

Not wanting the host to feel too comfortable, the Plymouth State offense found their groove just two minutes later, finding the net from distance to cut the UMass Boston lead in half. 

Though they could not extend the lead late in the game, the Beacons' offense maintained possession of the ball for the majority of the game, depriving the Panthers of a legitimate chance to tie the game, keeping the score at 2-1 at the final horn.

BY THE NUMBERS

• The Beacons outshot the Panthers 18-6, waging nine shots on goal to just three for Plymouth State
• Splitting time in net evenly, Isabella O'Connell and Julia Cote each finished with a save while holding Plymouth State to just one goal
• After recording her first career goal in the home opener, Rivera now leads the team with three on the season
• The Beacons have not lost on James Cotter Field since the 2018 season
• UMass Boston avenged a crushing road loss to the Panthers during the 2022 campaign, improving their record in the all-time series to 12-15-2

WHO'S NEXT
The Beacons will travel to Milton, Massachusetts on Tuesday, September 19 for a 4 PM matchup with Curry College.