MANSFIELD, Conn. – In a thrilling penalty shootout victory, the UMass Dartmouth men's soccer team defeated Eastern Connecticut State University in the First Round of the Little East Conference (LEC) Tournament on Saturday afternoon. The Corsairs advance to the LEC Semifinals for the first time since 2013 with the 4-3 penalty shootout win over the Warriors and move to 7-8-4 overall on the season.
Eastern Connecticut State generated quick attacking chances in the opening half forcing an early save by senior goalkeeper
Ethan Donahue. Sophomore midfielder
Delano Costa fired the first strike on frame for the Corsairs in the 38
th minute of action, but Warriors goalkeeper Jack Harmon was able to produce the stop. The Warriors tacked on three late shots featuring a save by Donahue to keep the score knotted up at 0-0 heading into halftime.
The home team came out strong to start the second half ripping three shots to force two crucial save by Donahue in the opening five minutes of action, respectively. Senior
Nick Mahjoory got UMass Dartmouth's offense going with his first strike on target that Harmon stopped at the 57:50 mark. Midway through the half, first year
Nick Scanlon added another strike on frame for the Corsairs followed by a shot from senior captain
Mario Rodriguez. Both teams exchanged shots in closing minutes of play, but the contest remained scoreless in regulation to send it into overtime.
The Warriors produced two late scoring opportunities in the first overtime period including a shot from Niall O'Brien that redirected off the woodwork. In the second overtime, Donahue tallied another two critical saves for the Corsairs. Scanlon posted a late strike that Harmon collected to force the game to be decided in a penalty shootout.
Rodriguez stepped up to take the opening penalty kick for UMass Dartmouth and buried the ball into the back of the net to tie the shootout at 1-1. Sophomore
Derrick Camara and Scanlon made both of their penalty kicks to keep the score level at 3-3. After Donahue made a diving save to deny Caiden Hettrick-Rivera's shot, Mahjoory gave UMass Dartmouth 4-3 lead with his good penalty kick. The Corsairs sealed their postseason win with a miss by Lex Edawards to defeat the Warriors by a 4-3 margin in a penalty shootout.
Rodriguez, Scanlon, and sophomore
Daniel Jordan all finished the game with two shots apiece. In net, Donahue registered nine total saves to secure his third shutout win of the season to improve to a 6-6-3 record.
It marks the first postseason win for UMass Dartmouth since the 2013 campaign when the Corsairs defeated Keene State, 3-1, on November 9. Additionally, it marks the first-ever postseason penalty shootout win in program history.
The Corsairs will travel to No. 1 seeded Western Connecticut State University for the LEC Semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 5 slated for a 6:00 p.m. start time.
