This season for UMass Boston Women’s Soccer has been one of ups, downs, twists and turns. Entering their matchup in Providence, R.I. against Rhode Island College on Sept. 30, with a middling record of 3–3–3, women’s soccer looked to get over .500 and gather some much-needed momentum after coming off an epic tie to UMass Dartmouth and a stout loss to Roger Willams. Rhode Island College was red-hot going into this matchup, as they were riding a six-game win streak alongside an excellent record of 7–1–1, according to goanchormen.com (1).
The Anchormen wasted no time showing that they’re a team to be reckoned with the first goal of the game, fifth goal of the season for Tayla Salmone, assisted by Serena Forte. They had the quick 1–0 lead in just the sixth minute of the match, but the Beacons showed them up three minutes later with the first goal of the year for Sarah Kelley, assisted by Kaylee Haynes and Callia Eaton. The game was now all squared up at 1–1 with just about 10 minutes played. The rest of the half was a battle between goalies as the Beacons entered the half, tied at 1–1.
Most of the second half was a defensive slugfest, with both teams refusing to give up another goal. This was broken in minute 70 by Cailegh Sullivan, scoring her second goal of the year, assisted by Kaylee Haynes. UMass Boston now had the 2–1 advantage against a top team with just 20 minutes left to play. The Beacons were able to hold onto their lead for the rest of those 20 minutes and got a well-fought win, as noted by Beacons Athletics (3).
They would travel back home to James Cotter Field just two days later, on Oct. 2, in a matchup against the Eastern Nazarene College Lions as a makeup game from September. The Lions have not had the season they hoped for and entered with an abysmal record of 1–5–3 on a 5-game winless streak, according to their website, athletics.enc.edu. The Beacons looked to capitalize on their newly gained momentum, but they wouldn’t take this weak team lightly.
UMass Boston started early as Georgia Bonney set up Sullivan for her third goal of the season, making it 1–0 15 minutes in. Just four minutes later, in the 19th minute, Christina Lafauci scored with an assist by Sarah Kelley, making it 2–0. The mountain climb got increasingly steeper for Nazarene when Sullivan scored again for the Beacons to stretch the lead to 3–0. Sofia Roberts and Amanda Regan added to the fun to make it a lost cause for a Lions comeback. The Beacons went into halftime with a commanding 5–0 lead, and could’ve let their feet off the gas pedal, but refused to do so.
In the 56th minute, Haynes made it a whopping 6–0 ball game and continued to pour it on with goals by Alexis Williamson and Julia Walsh in the 72nd and 83rd minutes. UMass Boston tallied eight total goals in an offensive storm, scoring the most goals they had in a single game all season, and on top of this, it was the Beacon’s largest shutout win since defeating Rhode Island College 9–0 in 2011. Sullivan impressed with two goals, being the first UMass Boston player to have a multi-goal game this year, according to Beacons Athletics (4).
The very next day, Oct. 3, the Beacons traveled to the inner city to play the solid Suffolk University Rams. The Rams had a record of 6–3–1 and had fire under them after a horrible 7–1 loss in their previous game, according to gosuffolkrams.com (5). This match was a defensive battle from both sides; Juila Cote faced just one shot from Suffolk the whole first half. But Suffolk battled back, limiting The UMass Boston offense to zero goals. In the second half, Isabella O’Connell was sent in for Cote to take over goal-keeping duties. She picked up exactly where Cote left off before her, blocking both shots she faced in the second half. Unfortunately for the Beacons, Suffolk’s defense performed just as well, and the game ended in a scoreless tie, according to Beacons Athletics (6).
The Beacons are currently in control of their own destiny in the conference, and they’ve been playing lights out on offense and defense in one of the most important stretches of the year. According to Beacons Athletics, UMass Boston will face off against Southern Maine at home this Wednesday before travelling to Western Connecticut State University for a Saturday matinee (7). The Beacons are looking as sharp as they were a year ago, and with the LEC tournament on the horizon, there’s no better time than now to support them in their shot toward a triumphant season.
- https://www.goanchormen.com/sports/wsoc
- https://athletics.enc.edu/sports/wso
- Anchors Up! – Women’s Soccer Ships Up to Boston with a Victory – UMass Boston (beaconsathletics.com)
- Beacons Tame Lions in 8-0 Win – UMass Boston (beaconsathletics.com)
- https://www.gosuffolkrams.com/sports/wsoc/index
- Women’s Soccer Blanks Suffolk, Gets Blanked – UMass Boston (beaconsathletics.com)
- https://beaconsathletics.com/sports/womens-soccer
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