On a cold and windy Thursday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Field the Lady Beacons pulled out a gritty victory over visiting Lesley College. Freshman forward Erika Marsters led the way with two goals and two assists on the day, while sophomore midfielder and captain Katherine Wall, who also scored, helped to control the pace of the game and disrupt the flow of her Lesley opponents. The 5-4 win is only the teams 3d this season but was none the less a positive step for the young team, currently with a whopping nine freshman on the roster. Head Coach Amy Zombek is optimistic about the future of her team and hopes to see her youthful core go from green to mean. The Beacons also snapped a 12-match winless streak and improve to 3-13-1 on the season.

Freshman midfielder Christina De Almeida was the spark the lit the fire when she took a cross from Marsters and put it into the back of the Lesley net on a header for her first collegiate goal in the opening minutes of the match. Marsters was the next to score after the Lesley Lynx tied the game 1-1 when she snuck in a short cross from freshman forward Linda Peter. Only ten minutes later Freshman midfielder Krysten Platte lifted a shot over the Lesley keeper from 15 yards out to increase the lead to 3-1. The Lynx managed to tie the game up again by scoring once just before the half and once just after, but the UMass women stayed focused and worked hard to regain lost ground

Marsters scored again early in the second half when she picked up a loose ball and deposited it into the net on the right side. Both Marsters and Peter would get on the board one more time with assists on a break away goal by Wall who put a laser in the top left corner for the 5th goal of the day, the Beacons highest total this season. Freshamn keeper Jessica Penta also played well stopping 15 shots and making smart plays, despite letting up 4 goals on the day. The future is both bright and near for this up and coming UMass product, who hope to follow in the footsteps of the Men’s program and make the leap to perennial contender in the Little East Conference.