By Chelsea Cabral, Staff Writer
The UMass Dartmouth women’s soccer team came out on top as they overpowered their LEC rival, the University of Southern Maine’s Huskies this past Saturday, October 15 with a 2-1 win at home on Cressy Field.
The action began just five minutes into the game when senior Corsair Erica Hammond of Warwick, RI rushed past the Huskies’ defense passing to junior teammate Liz Stearns of Medway, MA. Stearns was able to find the back of the net, with a goal flying past Husky keeper Taylor Canastra, putting the Corsairs on the map with a 1-0 lead.
Southern Maine eventually worked their way up, evening up the score 1-1 prior to halftime, adding the match point in the 30th minute. Freshman Husky Madi Freeman of Steep Falls, ME scored her first career goal with an unassisted strike.
The second half saw the Corsairs trying to capitalize on their many chances to score but went without prevail. With 13 shots and 12 corner kicks from the Corsairs in the second half, the 45 minutes went by without a point from either side, bringing the game into overtime.
By only six minutes into overtime, the Corsairs saw Alyssa Martins fire a game-winning goal to take back the lead and clinch the victory. Martins was able to put her head to the ball off of a corner kick from the right side by freshman Corsair Jennifer Woehl of Middletown, RI. The game-winner was Martins’ first goal of her collegiate soccer career.
The Corsairs, who outshot the Huskies 29-6 in the game, saw junior Abby Silva of Fall River, MA lead the pack with 6 total shots throughout the game followed by junior Alyssa Martins of Ludlow, MA tallying in the most shots on goal for the match with three in all.
With Saturday’s win, UMass Dartmouth improves to a 5-8-2 standing overall and evens out at 2-2 in the Little East Conference standings.
Saturday’s successful game follows UMass Dartmouth’s loss against Coast Guard Academy on Thursday, October 13 in a non-conference match. While freshman Jennifer Woehl was able to score her first career goal in the first half, the Coast Guard Bears quickly responded shutting out UMass Dartmouth with a final score of 3-1.
The Bears outshot UMass Dartmouth 20-11, while the team split the two corners in the match. The game marked the second match-up between the two schools. With Coast Guard’s victory, the Bears avenge a 1-0 defeat to the Corsairs back in 2013.
UMass Dartmouth’s women’s soccer team will be back on the road again with matches on Wednesday, October 19 at 4 p.m. against Rhode Island College and Saturday, October 22 at 1 p.m. against Keene State. Go Corsairs!