It may not have obvious from the start, but there was something very peculiar about the women’s soccer game last Saturday between UMass Boston and Plymouth State College: the Beacons only had 10 players, including the goalkeeper, on the field.

UMass Boston played the entire game a player down, but still gave a respectable showing. However, the effort was not enough as the Panthers of Plymouth State College scored three second half goals and come away with a 3-1 victory. The loss for the Beacons put their overall record at 1-7-1 and 0-1 in the Little East Conference. Plymouth State College improved to 2-4 as the team secured its first conference victory of the season.

The game started off well enough for the Beacons as sophomore Amanda Green continued her spectacular play when she popped in a loose ball in front of the Plymouth State College net for a 1-0 lead. UMB goaltender Kristen Bowes (17 saves) played a brilliant assertive game, coming up with some dandy saves to preserve the score going into the second half.

Plymouth State tied the game up ten minutes into the second half as Panther Katie Sheridan sent a ball by Bowes. Bowes continued to play a stellar game, coming up with two remarkable saves to keep the game tied.

Plymouth State College, however, pressure turned out to be too much for the Beacons. Forwards Holly Levesque and Natasha Thorne increased the Panther lead with goals less than fifteen minutes apart. UMB’s Meghan Cyr relieved Bowes in the game’s final ten minutes, turning away one Panther shot.

The women’s soccer team will face Wentworth Institute of Technology on Thursday October 3 and then travel south to take on Little East Conference foe, Rhode Island College on Saturday October 5.