DARMOUTH, Mass. – The UMass Dartmouth men's soccer team fell against Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday during Little East Conference (LEC) tilt by a final score of 3-1. The Corsairs are now 0-5-2 in league action while the Warriors collect their second conference win to improve to a 2-4-1 LEC record.
Prior to kickoff, the Corsairs celebrated four senior student-athletes and their contributions to the program including seniors
Braeden LeClair,
Justin Petrillo,
Kyle Rhines, and
Leo Brittes.
Eastern Connecticut grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the opening three minutes of play thanks to a score by Walter Scudder that he blasted into the top netting to give the visitors a one-goal advantage. The Warriors continued to apply pressure on the Corsairs backline as junior goalkeeper
Ethan Donahue posted his second save of the game. In the 9
th minute of action, Logan Brennan fired a long range shot that went off the woodwork and out of play.
At the 13:57 mark, the visitors doubled their lead as Brennan slotted the ball into the back of the net off a centering pass from Sean Cafferty to make to 2-0. UMass Dartmouth responded shortly after as sophomore
Matt Kobrenski ripped the first shot on frame for the Corsairs forcing a stop by Warriors goalkeeper Nathan Yeich.
The visitors posted five more shot attempts in the first half featuring a pair of saves by Donahue. Fifth year
Joey Paiva had a late scoring chance for UMass Dartmouth, however Yeich was able to record the save to keep the Warriors two-goal lead heading into halftime.
Senior
Andrew Pacheco started the second half with a shot attempt that ended up being blocked by a Warrior defender. A few minutes later, Scudder tallied his second score of the day to extend Eastern Connecticut's lead to 3-0. Sophomore
Mario Rodriguez responded for the Corsairs by firing his first strike on target of the match that Yeich scoped up to deny.
The Warriors dominated in possession as the second half progressed outshooting the Corsairs 8-2 approaching the final 10 minutes of the game. In the final seconds of the contest, Brittes launched a deep shot from the right flank that lobbed over Yeich and nestled into the top left corner to put UMass Dartmouth on the scoreboard. Despite the late goal, Eastern Connecticut sealed their victory by a final score of 3-1 on Cressy Field.
The Warriors held a 23-10 shot advantage over the Corsairs along with 11-4 shots on-goal edge. UMass Dartmouth won the corner kick battle earning eight on the afternoon while Eastern Connecticut had six corner kicks in the contest.
Brittes lone score marked his first collegiate goal as a Corsair during the Senior Day game. Scudder recorded a brace for the Warriors while Brennan tallied one goal on the afternoon.
Donahue picked up the loss after producing eight total saves in net for the Corsairs after a full 90 minutes of action. Yeich recorded three stops and allowed one goal for the Warriors to earn the win.
UMass Dartmouth are back home for a non-conference battle against Massachusetts Maritime Academy. The game is slated for a 7:00 pm start time from Cressy Field.
