DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's soccer team fell against the University of Southern Maine, 3-0, on Saturday afternoon in their Little East Conference (LEC) opener from Cressy Field. The Corsairs start conference action 0-1 and move to a 2-3-1 overall record while the Huskies picked up their first LEC win of the season and improved to 3-2 overall.
The Huskies started the game strong recording six unanswered shots in the opening 16 minutes, respectively, featuring a pair of saves by Corsairs goalkeeper Marina Casano. Midway through the first half, Madi Sainis put Southern Maine up 1-0 off the assist from Makyla Magid at the 21:19 mark.
Cassano produced another four saves to keep the Huskies off the scoreboard before first year
Natalie Frazier tested Southern Maine goalkeeper Lucy McLaughlin with a shot on target. Southern Maine substitutes made an impact towards the end of the half as Marie Benoit and Ani Roberts each scored for the visitors to take a 3-0 lead heading into the break.
Southern Maine kicked off the second half by firing 3-fo-7 shots on frame with Cassano posting all three saves for the Corsairs. Around the 65:43 mark, sophomore
Emma Murphy ripped a shot towards the Huskies net that McLaughlin was able to stop. UMass Dartmouth began to pick up attacking momentum nearing the final 15 minutes of action as first year
Kate O'Nuallain fired a shot that bounced off the crossbar. Junior
Madison Depina jumped on the loose rebound however her shot went wide right of the Huskies goal. The Corsair continued to battle as first year
Ainsley Christensen recorded a late shot on target, but Southern Maine sealed their win by a final score of 3-0.
The Huskies outshot the Corsairs by a 33-11 margin including 16-4 shots on-goal differential. Southern Maine also won the corner kick battle with eight in the contest compared to UMass Dartmouth with five corner kicks. The Huskies committed 10 total fouls in the game while the Corsairs were called for just two fouls on the afternoon.
Depina, Frazier, and Christensen each ended the game with two shot attempts in the game for UMass Dartmouth. O'Nuallain made her collegiate debut for the Corsairs against the Huskies and recorded her first career shot in the loss.
In net, Casano picked up the loss after making 13 total saves for the Corsairs and allowed three goals on the afternoon. Her counterpart finished the contest with four stops in net for the Huskies.
UMass Dartmouth hosts Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) for their next non-conference tilt on Wednesday, Sept. 17 starting at 6:00 p.m. from Cressy Field.
