The UMass Boston women’s soccer team showed signs of life, rallying in the second half and scoring two goals before succumbing to a superior Worchester State team, 5-2. The Beacons’ overall record dropped to 5-1

Star goaltender Kristen Bowes moved out of the keeper’s box to sweeper in an attempt to generate more offence. The move allowed Kristen Smoyer to play striker a position where she really did some damage and she did not disappoint.She scored a goal and got several quality shots on net, including one 29 minutes into the first half that was inches from tying the game 1-1.

That was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise ugly first half for UMass. They came out of the box with a whimper and nobody besides Kristen Smoyer wanted anything to do with the ball past midfield. Their defense lead by the smart aggressive play of Bowes kept them in the game allowing only two goals in the first half.

Worchester scored their first goal 11 minutes on the most excellent shot of the day. Stephanie Nostin received a perfect centering pass from her right wing at the top of the box. In front of her was a wall of defenders as she faked left and then spun right opening up a hole in the defense just long enough for a blast into the top left corner of the net.

For the most part the UMass defense played well, but offense was non-existent. The midfielders, granted tired without substitutions, lost almost every goal kick and header and the offence was a one women show starring Kristen Smoyer.

After the game, coach Gretchen Randall said, “The team is getting better each half”. And she was absolutely right. In this game there was a huge difference between the lackluster team of the first half and a second half team that played some aggressive dogged soccer. What the coach or captains said during halftime, or what’s in the Gatorade only the team knows but they came out in the second half with fire.

The star of the second half was sophomore Amanda Greene. She really stepped up in the second half playing very aggressively on offence. She got called for a couple of minor infractions because of her physical style, a style that paid off in the 67th minute. Greene ran neck and neck after a breakaway with a Worcester State defender. The defender was forced to stop the scoring change and fouled Greene inside the keeper’s box; the resulting penalty kick was the second goal for the beacons.

Sometimes as in this case the score does not tell the whole story. Freshman goalie Meghan Cyr had a solid game, a crucial ingredient in the team’s cohesion. If this team can continue to gel, as they did in a big way in the second half of this game, fans can look forward to more games like this one.