DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Despite a number of outstanding chances, the UMass Dartmouth men's soccer team played to a 0-0 draw against the University of Southern Maine in Little East Conference action on Saturday at Cressy Field. The Corsairs are now 1-5-2 overall and 0-0-1 in the LEC, while the Huskies move to 1-3-5 and 0-0-2 in conference play.
Neither team found the back of the net in the opening half of action, but both teams had their chances. The Corsairs opened the attempts in the 1st minute as sophomore midfielder
Mario Rodriguez found his shot blocked in front.
In the 18th minutes, the Huskies had a flurry of activity as Connor Roberge saw two straight shots blocked, before his shot broke through. Corsairs' keeper
Ethan Donahue made the diving save to cover the ball.
Corsairs sophomore midfielder
Nate Cordeiro had a solid chance in the 40th minutes, but his shot went high and was punched out by Huskies goalie Gabe Wagner. Fifth year forward
Joey Paiva had a shot blocked seconds later and Southern Maine closed out the half as Jack Brady sent a shot off the right post.
Out of the halftime, the Corsairs had another opportunity as senior midfielder
Justin Petrillo fired in a shot, but his shot missed just high in the 54th minute.
The Huskies saw two golden chances in the 62nd minute as Alex Graver dropped in a shot that Donahue was able to save. The ball richocheted out, falling onto the foot of Martin Kelly, whose bulleted shot was stopped on a diving save from Donahue to preserve the tie.
Southern Maine kept up the pressure five minutes later as Samir Sayed battled through the defense, firing a shot that flew high and right of the goal, while in the 73rd minute, Kelly had an off-angle shot that sailed just left of the goal.
UMass Dartmouth had a chance of its own in the 76th minute as a low shot from junior midfielder
Jake Silva found the net, but Wagner was there to scoop up the ball. Wagner had another outstanding stop on a Corsairs free kick, making a heads-up save as a ball from senior midfielder
Braeden LeClair bent in his direction for the jump save.
In the closing minutes, the Corsairs had their best chance of the contest in the 88th minute as the ball was played up by sophomore defender
Thomas Meader to Petrillo. He broke loose and fired a shot the went past Wagner, but was called offsides.
Southern Maine owned a 16-11 advantage in shots, with a narrow 5-3 margin on goal. The Huskies also had an 8-6 edge in corners.
The Corsairs return to action on Wednesday, hosting UMass Boston in Little East action on Cressy Field. Kickoff time is set for 3pm.
