Men’s Basketball: UMass Boston’s men’s basketball team will begin their season next week, looking to build off of a good year in 2018-2019. They finished with a 13-12 overall record, while going 8-8 in the Little East Conference. Perhaps the key to success for the Beacons is getting off to another strong start; they began 4-0 last year but then struggled to string together multiple wins in a row ever again, as four games stood as their longest winning streak of the season. Another key to success is winning at home. In 2018-2019, they went 9-5 at home, while only going 4-7 on the road. If the Beacons can improve that 4-7 away record, it could go a long way in improving their overall record in 2020. With that said, UMass Boston did make the postseason last year, as they lost to Western Connecticut State in the LEC quarterfinals. Their first game will be on November 12that 7:00 PM at UMass Lowell.
Women’s Basketball: UMass Boston’s women’s basketball team will see their season get underway next weekend. In 2018-2019, the Beacons had a great regular season in which they went 17-9 overall, and 10-6 in the LEC. IT earned them the four seed in the tournament, but they lost to Rhode Island College at home in the quarterfinals. Much like the men’s team, the women got off to a great start last season, winning their first five games. Unlike the men, the women were actually much stronger on the road, going 9-3. They still had a solid home record of 7-5, but it is rare to see a team play better away from home. The most important aspect that the Beacons will need to do better on in 2020 is finishing strong. Last year, they lost three straight games to end their season, which resulted in them getting eliminated in the first round of the postseason. UMass Boston will begin its season next weekend on Saturday, November 9th, at 4:00 PM in the Maine Maritime Academy Tournament against Thomas College (Maine).
Men’s Ice Hockey: As the year is set to get underway, the men’s hockey team is poised to have a great season. In 2018-2019, UMass Boston went 19-8-1 overall, but went 14-3-1 in the New England Hockey Conference. An 8-0 start really helped them earn the number one seed come time for postseason, but they lost in the conference semifinals to Hobart College. They then went on to lost to Manhattanville College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This year, the Beacons have already played two games. After losing 3-1 to Curry College on opening night this past Friday, UMass Boston bounced back with a huge 9-2 victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology on Saturday. Next weekend, the Beacons will host the Quebec Cegep League All-Stars on Saturday at 4:00 PM in an exhibition match.
Women’s Ice Hockey: UMass Boston’s women’s hockey team began their season last weekend in Maryland and Pennsylvania. They started with a 0-0 tie at Stevenson University, and then defeated Neumann University 2-0. In 2018-2019, the Beacons had a down year in which they went 10-15-2 overall, and had a conference record of 5-9-2. With that said, as the seven seed, they upset Suffolk University in the quarterfinals of the New England Hockey Conference tournament. They eventually went on to lose 3-2 in the semifinals against Norwich University. Hopefully the Beacons can pick up where they left off last year. This weekend, they will host Norwich University at 4:00 PM on Friday, and then will travel to Johnson & Wales University for a 6:45 PM game on Saturday.
Winter sports preview
By Dylan Porcaro
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November 1, 2019