WORCESTER, Mass. – The UMass Dartmouth women's soccer team drew with Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 1-1, on the road during a non-conference matchup on Wednesday night. The Corsairs are 2-3-2 on the year with the tie to the Engineers who now own a 3-2-1 overall record.
First year goalkeeper
Tori Russo was tested earlier in the contest registering three stops in the opening minutes of the game for the Corsairs. The Engineers continued to push their attack posting four more shot attempts, two of which were saved by Russo to keep the home team off the scoreboard.
At the 25:04 mark, senior
Caroline McAuliffe found the back of the net to give UMass Dartmouth a 1-0 advantage. Senior
Adriana Adames sent the ball deep into the Engineers penalty box following a freekick about 40-yards out from goal. McAuliffe settled the ball before lofting a shot over the head of Engineers goalkeeper Lili Hellerman to give UMass Dartmouth a 1-0 lead.
WPI picked up where they left at the end of the first half, firing five shots in the opening 10 minutes of the second half featuring one save by Russo. At the 61:39 mark, the Engineers leveled the score with a goal by Olivia Toolin to make it a 1-1 game.
With just under 15 minutes remaining, Russo came up big for the Corsairs after stopping two shots from Reese Pszenny. In the 84
th minute of the game, sophomore
Madison Depina ripped a strike on frame to force a save from Ayla Verheul.
WPI tallied the final five shots of the contest, as Russo picked up another two saves to seal the 1-1 final score from Carr Field. The Engineers held a 30-2 advantage in total shot attempts along with a 15-2 edge in shots on-goal. WPI took 10 total corner kicks while UMass Dartmouth ended the night with two.
McAuliffe notched her first goal of the 2024 season in the tie against WPI after registering just one shot. Depina also posted one shot in the contest for UMass Dartmouth.
In the net, Russo produced a season-high 14 saves for the Corsairs after playing the entire game and allowing just one goal. Hellerman allowed one goal after 35 minutes of action while Verheul checked in for the last 25 minutes of play recording one stop for the Engineers.
UMass Dartmouth return to Cressy Field for their next non-conference tilt against Framingham State University set for a 7:00 pm kickoff.
