The leaves have starting to drop, and Major League Baseball’s Fall Classic is underway: two signs of a change of seasons for college athletics. UMass Boston’s fall sports are coming to a close, paving way for the winter, and some have seen more success than others.
Women’s soccer stalled midseason after a promising start. They were winless in six straight games spanning from Sept. 20 to Oct. 8. After being hit hard with injuries, they struggled to find offensive opportunities, especially against Little East Conference opponents.
The Beacons’ Oct. 25 win against Plymouth State brought their standings to 3-3-1 against conference foes, but they aren’t quite out of breath when it comes to postseason aspirations. UMass Boston currently sits in sixth place — the final playoff seed — at 10 points in the LEC. They’ll play one more game in the regular season against UMass Dartmouth before potentially heading to the playoffs.
Men’s soccer is on the verge of their sixth straight season at a .500 win percentage or better. Dating back to Sept. 16, the men’s team has lost just once in conference play and have outscored opponents 24-8. They sit at an 9-3-4 overall record while being 4-1-2 within the LEC. That’s good for a solid second place in the conference at 14 points, with Eastern Connecticut and UMass Dartmouth following close behind.
On the court — tennis, that is — the UMass Boston’s women’s team was poised to win yet another LEC title, but ultimately fell to long-time opponent Rhode Island College. The Beacons have claimed each of the last three championships, marking the third threepeat in school history, all at the expense of RIC. After another solid season — 11-4 with a 8-2 LEC record — women’s tennis lost their Oct. 25 game 2-4, breaking their winning streak against the Anchormen.
At the Clark Athletic Center, UMass Boston’s volleyball team has three more games, two of which are in-conference, at a record of 12-11. Beacons volleyball has made the LEC tournament every year since the 2006 season, and this year seems to be no different: currently sitting in fourth in the LEC standings, the Beacons are prepared to enter the playoffs.
Incoming is the winter season: basketball and hockey, with baseball and softball just around the corner. With the exception of a couple exhibitions and scrimmages, women’s hockey will drop the puck first on Nov. 1 at home, hosting the University of New England. They’re coming off a 10-14-2 year and their final NEHC playoff game, as both of UMass Boston’s hockey programs will transition into the LEC this year.
On Nov. 6, men’s hockey will skate out for their regular season debut at Fitchburg State. A similar record of 10-14-1 last year wasn’t enough to punch their ticket to the postseason, and they’ll look to flip the script in the Little East this year.
Next up is men’s basketball who is hoping to get back to full strength when they welcome Curry College to the Clark Athletic Center Nov. 8. After a 14-12 regular season a year ago, they beat Southern Maine at home in a high scoring playoff thriller, scoring 108, only to be blown out by the impressive Keene State in the semifinals. Notably, the Beacons will play an exhibition at Harvard University, an NCAA Division 1 program, before their season opener.
Women’s basketball will start a day after the men out at Mitchell College. They struggled through much of last year finishing 10-16, but squeezed into the postseason and gave Southern Maine a real run for their money — even though ended up losing by double digits.
