By Staff Writer Elijah Santos

The Corsairs traveled up to Castleton, Vermont this weekened to take on the Castleton Spartans. In what proved to be a very competitive match, the Corsairs would eventually pull away with a win. A heroic 59th minute goal from Joe Morehead would be the game winner for UMass Dartmouth in their 2-1 men’s soccer victory during the Saturday evening match in Castleton Vermont.

The Corsairs took a 1-0 lead early into the match, 23rd minute, from senior Vangjel Kutulla’s corner kick conversion. The Corsairs would try and hold this lead for as long as they could, but their efforts would be pushed aside by the Spartans. The Spartans would later repay the favor, scoring early into the second half, the 54th minute, in a goal from senior Tom Kirk.

With the score being 1-1 in the second half, the University of Massachusetts knew they would need to prevent this game from going into overtime as they’ve begun to hold a bad reputation for overtime loses. Sophomore Joe Morehead would prove to be the hero UMass Dartmouth would need to finish the scoring battle, beating two defenders and finishing it off with his second goal of the season giving UMass Dartmouth the final 2-1 result.

Jacob Castro got his first collegiate win making five stops and keeping the Spartans ball out of the net for the remaining time which solidified the win for the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Sophomore Alex Fernald made three stops in retaliation to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Corsairs offense for the Spartans. The Spartans outshot UMass Dartmouth 14-7 with 6-5 of those being on net. They had a 4-2 lead in corner kicks and in offsides (3-1). UMass Dartmouth would take home the lead in fouls (14-9).

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (1-9-1, 1-3-1 LEC) played well against the Castleton Spartans (5-5-1, 1-2-1 LEC). This was the first time the two Universities had met on the pitch during a conference game and will not see each other until a later match in the season. Both teams would play hard during the game, with defensive highlights shown throughout the match.

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth will take on Rhode Island College in another Little East Conference match on Wednesday evening at the UMass Dartmouth Cressy Field, which starts at 7:00 pm. The Castleton Spartans on the other hand will head to Plymouth, New Hampshire on Wednesday to take on Plymouth state in their Little East Conference match.

Both teams seem to have tough competition ahead with Rhode Island College’s reputation as one of the tougher teams in the conference as the Corsairs make a push for the playoffs. The Castleton Spartans will likely have a tough time with Plymouth state as well, playing them for the second time this season.

PHOTO COURTESY: CORSAIR ATHLETICS