by Sebastian Moronta Blanco, Staff Writer
UMass Dartmouth lost this past Wednesday against the Eastern Connecticut Warriors at the Mansfield Complex.
Eastern Connecticut scored two goals, leaving the Corsairs shut out in the Little East Conference opener for both teams.
UMass Dartmouth started the game strong with two penalty corners in the first ten minutes of play from Haley Donahay, a defender from Cranston, RI, who also went on to get a third penalty corner in the first half after a Warrior goal.
The Corsairs couldn’t turn the corners into goals and the Warriors repossessed the ball.
Eastern Connecticut Warrior Brianna Passero knocked the ball into the goal after a pass from teammate Mary Kate Custer. This was Passero’s second goal of the season.
UMass Dartmouth managed to stop the next three scoring attempts as Corsair goalkeeper from Franklin, Massachusetts, Allison Burke kept the score at 1-0 throughout the end of the half.
The Warriors came out strong in the second half, dominating the ball and making several shots. Burke was able to stop five more shots from the Warriors until Eastern Connecticut’s Darianne Mastricola got a shot off a sweep pass from teammate Khiara Valentine to bring the score to 2-0. This was also Khiara’s second goal of the season.
The Warriors felt a Corsair push from Mary Brown and Delaney Burns, as each took a shot on goal.
Both shots were saved by Warrior goalkeeper Samantha Scavo within the final three minutes of the game, and the Warriors maintained the shut out.
This is the Warriors first victory against the Corsairs in eleven years. Their last victory was in 2005. The Corsairs held a ten-game winning streak all this time.
Allison Burke, even with the finished score of 2-0, played well ending the game with eight total saves while Warriors goalkeeper managed to stop four Corsair goal attempts.
The Corsairs home opener this past Saturday saw UMass Dartmouth field hockey redeem themselves with a big victory against Salem state, with a final score of 9-2 Corsairs.
This puts the Corsairs current record at 1-3, 1-1 for the conference.
The big scorers of the game were from Haley Donahay and Katelin Morrisey, scoring two and four goals respectively.
Defender Hunter Carden assisted in two goals apart from adding a point to the board.
The Corsairs haven’t put more than eight goals on the board since 2012, scoring ten goals against Fitchburg State.
The Corsairs gave a most impressive performance shot-taking, as the team put together a total of 45 shots, blowing away the Vikings three total shots. The Corsairs haven’t shot more than 40 goals since 2013 against Western Connecticut.
They will travel to face Clarke University and Fitchburg State on the 13th and 17th before returning home for three straight home games.
You can support the Corsairs on the September 20 and the 22 at 7, and September 24 at one p.m. at Cressy field. They will take on Worcester State, Tufts, and Southern Maine.
Their last game of the month is away on September 28 at Framingham State.