DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The UMass Dartmouth women's soccer team tied against Plymouth State University in the regular season finale on Friday night by a final score of 1-1. The Corsairs finish the regular season with a 2-5-1 Little East Conference (LEC) record after handing the Panthers their first draw of the season to go 2-5-1 in league action.
UMass Dartmouth started strong on the attack as first year
Emma Murphy ripped an early shot followed by a strike on frame from sophomore
Madison Depina. Panthers goalkeeper Christa Giansiracusa posted the save for her first of the night to deny Depina in the opening seven minutes of play.
In the 23
rd minute of the game, Corsairs earned their first corner kick of the night which was taken by first year
Lilly Jaeger. Her kick landed near the back post where a Panther defender attempted to clear the ball but instead found Depina who lasered a quick shot into the left side netting to put UMass Dartmouth up 1-0.
Shortly after, Plymouth responded as Olivia Howard fired a shot on target to test first year goalkeeper
Tori Russo, making her first stop of the game. The Panthers recorded the last three shots of the half featuring a late save by Russo to preserve the Corsairs one-goal advantage heading into halftime.
The Corsairs once again were on the attack to begin the second half of the contest registering five shots in the opening 11 minutes, respectively. First year
Ashlyn Aguiar and junior
Antonella Goncalves each ripped a shot on target, both of which Giansiracusa saved. At the 67
th minute, senior captain
Kaitlyn Nguyen had a chance to double UMass Dartmouth's lead with her strike from the top of the Panther penalty box but Giansiracusa stood her ground posting her fourth save of the half.
Plymouth tied the game with a late equalizer by Ella Fraser in the 83
rd minute to make it a 1-1 game. Russo denied Fraser's first shot attempt before collecting the rebound and tapping into the back of the net. The Panthers almost took the lead in the 86
th minute as Nevaeh Petruzzi's shot bounced off the crossbar, but the Corsairs settled for the draw by a final score of 1-1 from Cressy Field.
UMass Dartmouth held a 17-10 advantage in total shots along with a slight 7-5 edge in shots on-goal. The Corsairs also earned three corner kicks in the contest compared to the Panthers with two on the night.
Depina netted the lone goal for UMass Dartmouth marking her first goal of the season after producing three shots. Sophomore
Adriana Adames also ended the night with three shot attempts while first year
Anna Keller, Murphy, and Aguiar each tallied two shots apiece.
Russo shouldered the loss in net for UMass Dartmouth after recording three saves and allowing just one goal after 90 minutes of action. Giansiracusa posted six stops in net for the Panthers and also allowed one goal.
