Clark Center Field – Freshman Igor DaCruz scored his first career collegiate goal Saturday, Sept. 23, midway through the first half to start off the scoring for the Beacons in a key 3-1 victory over visiting conference rival Rhode Island College. Senior captain Mike Reda and junior speedster Emile Pierre-Louis each added goals to seal the victory on a windy, overcast Saturday afternoon.
By capitalizing on their many scoring opportunities and shutting down Rhode Island’s offensive attack in the second half, the Beacons came away with what might be their best win of the season so far. Sophomore Goalkeeper Paul Maniscalco who played a stellar game with six saves on the day, confirmed that “it’s the best we’ve played all year.” Sophomore Romeo Zeqo and junior captain Guilerme Gonclaves were also among the stars of the game as usual, providing valuable support from their midefield positions on both ends of the field. But in the words of captain Reda who contributed an assist in addition to his 3d goal of the season, “11 of us were stars today.”
The Beacons started strong, working the ball up the sidelines and exploiting the relatively weak left side in RIC’s defense. Rhode Island played well but had clear matchup problems that the Beacons were able to take advantage of by consistently creating solid scoring opportunities. The Beacons had been having problems in previous games both finishing drives and forcing the ball through the middle, but Saturday’s game saw a more polished attack on the offensive end.
The first goal of the game came in the 23rd minute of the first half. Rhode Island was forced to fall back as the Beacons attacked the box on all cylinders. Junior Maynor Sanchez put a perfectly placed cross right on the foot of DaCruz who drilled it into the back of the net on the wide open left side. The goal was a major momentum builder for a team that has struggled in conference games in the past. Head Coach Myles Berry said that DaCruz “really stepped it up, he’s a good player… today was a good step forward for him; he played with a lot of toughness and a lot of composure.”
Rhode Island tied the game just five minutes later, on what Coach Berry called “a soft goal”, but the Beacons managed to stay focused after the half, though often provoked into verbal and physical battles by their rivals. By the game’s end, the officiating crew had issued a whopping 8 yellow cards and a combined 41 fouls (26 in the second half) in a consistently contentious match. In the 60th minute, Rhode Island’s Julian Montoya was ejected for receiving his second yellow card of the game, forcing his team to play the remainder of the match a man down. Reda downplayed the confrontations, suggesting that it was “just good competition, just a little fun; their gettin’ riled up, we’re gettin’ riled up, that’s how it goes sometimes, gets a little chippy, but it’s part of the game.” Coach Berry was less enthusiastic “[I] hate it, hate it, I don’t wanna see it, I don’t want them talking to the referees.”
Though the tie score at the half did not reflect it, the Beacons controlled the play in the first half and continued to do so in an even stronger second half. The second UMass goal of the game came in the 60th minute on a penalty kick by sharp shooting Reda who is now three for three on the season. The captain nailed a bullet by the goalkeeper into the upper left corner to help his team retake the lead. Following the crucial kick, the Beacons tightened up their defense while continuing to put pressure on the Rhode Island backfield.
The dagger came fifteen minutes later in the 75th minute, off a beautiful cross by Reda from the left side, perfectly lining up a goal by Pierre-Louis who put it past a leaping goalkeeper with a header. The goal was Pierre-Louis’ second in as many games. Like the rest of the team, he is building momentum for a potentially great season.
“That was a backbreaker,” Coach Berry explained, “that was a huge goal [and] that was the one that really put it away.” The Beacons are now 6-2-0 on the season, 1-1-0 in conference play, and plan to bring the same intensity into their next big match against Salem State, this Tuesday at 3:30 pm at the Clark Athletic Center, as they continue on the road to the 2006 Little East Conference playoffs.