Volleyball
18-7 (5-0 LEC)
The Beacons began this stretch with a fairly surprising 3-1 loss to Bowdoin at the Clark Center on Oct. 14. They then traveled to take on UMass Dartmouth on Oct. 16. Led by Julia Murphy, who had 19 kills, the Beacons overcame a first-set loss to throttle their conference foes, 3-1. The ladies returned home to the Clark Center after a five day layoff to take on Eastern Connecticut State — who they handled for an easy, 3-1 win with Kirsten Morrison leading the way with 11 kills. Undefeated so far in Little East play, the Beacons are rolling towards the conference tournament. After this relatively quiet stretch, they will wrap up the conference schedule at Plymouth State on Oct. 28 before heading down to Atlanta, GA, to finish their regular season with three matches at the Emory University Invitational. This team is a true wagon and after the regular season they will await their conference competition in the LEC Tournament before hopefully qualifying for the NCAA Tournament and making a push for a National Title. Julia Murphy was recently awarded the LEC player of the week for the fourth time this season and she leads the team in kills with 272. Kirsten Morrison is second with 172.
Women’s Soccer
7-4-5 (4-1 LEC)
The Beacons have played a lot of soccer lately with two of their recent matches ending in ties after two overtime periods. The first of these was a 0-0 draw in Beverly when they took on Endicott. Dani Perkins made four saves for the Beacons, who just could not get it going against a very good opponent. They only managed four shots on goal and nothing found the back of the net. Four days later, they hosted Keene State at the Clark Center in their annual “Think Pink” game for breast cancer awareness. In a very close match, the Beacons squeaked by with a win. The Beacons fell behind, 2-1, in the second half before storming back with two goals in less than five minutes, one from Krista Ledin and one from Ericka Garufi. Dani Perkins made seven saves as the Beacons ended the day with a 3-2 win. After a few days off, they returned to the Clark Center pitch for a match against Tufts, which resulted in another tie, 3-3. Marina Kelly, Ledin, and Garfui scored for the Beacons, with Garufi’s goal coming with just five minutes remaining in regulation. The Beacons actually trailed three separate times in the match but were able to escape with the draw. The ladies closed out this stretch with a 3-1 loss at Emmanuel in a driving rainstorm, with Amanda Pugliese scoring the lone Beacon goal.
This year, Krista Ledin is leading the way with 14 goals, adding to her program record. Ledin and Kelly are tied for the team lead with seven assists. Dani Perkins and Kristen Spain have combined to hold opponents to a 1.34 Goals Against Average. The Beacons will close out their regular with home match against Bridgewater State and then a critical conference road test against Rhode Island College on Nov. 1. The ladies are currently in second place in the Little East with one match remaining, but their overall record trails conference leader Western Connecticut State significantly.
Men’s Soccer
11-4-1 (4-0-1 LEC)
The Beacons seem to have turned a corner, as they have not lost a match since Sept. 30, and they have outscored opponents 16-2 this month. They began this stretch at the Clark Center on Oct. 14 with a 5-1 trouncing of Salve Regina. Five different Beacons scored goals, four of which were in the second half. Douglas Silveira, Rolando Barbosa, and Edmilson Barros scored in a ten minute period late in the half to put the match out of reach. Their next matchup was a 1-1 tie at Keene State on Oct. 18. Marcus Pizzetti scored the lone goal for the Beacons and Alfonso Rosales made five saves in the 2OT contest. The guys closed out this stretch with a 4-0 smothering of Worcester State on the road. Worcester State didn’t even have a shot on goal for the entire contest as Marcelo Cunha, Luis Mattos, Douglas Silveira, and Elton Texeira scored the quartet of Beacons goals — all in the first half. The Beacons have three matches remaining — against Plymouth State, Mass Maritime, and Rhode Island College — before they begin the LEC tournament
The Beacons stand alone atop the Little East standings. After a shaky start they are looking like a true juggernaut that will be a very tough out in the playoffs. Pedro Dasilva is leading the Beacons in scoring with 11 goals, and Edmilson Barros is leading the way with seven assists. Alfonso Rosales has been nothing short of an MVP in goal, with a microscopic .91 GAA and three shutouts so far this season.
Cross Country
On Oct. 17, the Beacons headed to Franklin Park to run in the Emmanuel College Saints Invitational, where they finished 11th place on the women’s side, and 15th on the men’s. Melissa Coble led the ladies with a 38th place finish, running the three-plus miles in 22:14. Frida Harari finished right behind her with a time of 22:32. On the men’s side, Jonny Long led the way with a 73rd place finish, running the five miles in 30:06. Tad Delaney finished 95th with a time of 31:06. The Beacons have completed their regular season and will next compete at the LEC Championship meet on Nov. 1.