KEENE, N.H. – The UMass Dartmouth men's soccer team tied with Keene State College, 1-1, in Litte East Conference (LEC) action on Saturday afternoon. The Corsairs are 0-3-3 in league play with the tie to the Owls who now own a ____ LEC record.
The Owls kicked off the game with an early shot attempt by Luke Belisle in the opening minute that was blocked. Shortly after, first year
Daniel Jordan fired the first strike for UMass Dartmouth that went wide of the net and out of play.
Fifth year
Joey Paiva then tested Owls goalkeeper Regan Racicot with a shot on target in the 11
th minute that Racicot was able to stop for his first save of the afternoon. The Corsairs attack continued to gain momentum as play progressed registering six shots in comparison to the Owls with just two.
At the 28:18 mark, Paiva buried the ball into the back of the net for his fourth score of the season to put UMass Dartmouth ahead 1-0. The veteran forward spun his Owl defender off a thrown in before striking the ball with his left foot which lobbed over Racicot and into the top left corner.
UMass Dartmouth entered the second half with their one-goal advantage as Paiva posted an early shot attempt that went high right of the net. Keene State earned a penalty kick in the 63
rd minute of the contest following a handball called against the Corsairs inside their penalty box. Alex Nicolas stepped for the Owls and blasted the ball past a diving
Ethan Donahue to level the score at 1-1.
The Corsairs kept battling nearing the final 15 minutes of the game. Jordan almost gave UMass Dartmouth the lead again with his low shot on frame, but the Keene State defense cleared the ball out of danger to keep the visitors off the scoreboard.
Paiva led the squad with his lone goal, his fourth of the season, along with a team-high six shot attempts featuring three on target. First year
Matthew Suprenard, sophomore Mario Rodriquez, and Jordan each recorded two shots apiece for the Corsairs.
Donahue picked up his third tie in net for UMass Dartmouth after allowing just one goal off the penalty kick. Racicot produced a pair of saves for the Owls and also allowed one goal after playing the full 90 minutes.
The Corsairs return home for their next non-conference game hosting Wentworth Institute of Technology on Tuesday, Oct. 8. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm from Cressy Field.
