WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's soccer team tied against the University of Hartford on Tuesday evening, 2-2, during non-conference action from Alumni Stadium. The Corsairs are now 3-4-3 on the season with the tie versus the Hawks who move to a 6-2-2 overall mark.
Hartford grabbed a 2-0 lead in the game after Kathleen Brush scored back-to-back goals for the Hawks in the opening 20 minutes of play, respectively. The home squad continued to push their attack by recording four shots featuring two saves for Corsairs goalkeeper
Tori Russo. First year
Kiariana Williams tallied the first shot of the game for UMass Dartmouth midway through the half that went just wide of the net. First year goalkeeper
Marina Cassano checked into the contest for the Corsairs and posted a pair of stops to keep the score locked in at 2-0 Hartford heading into the break.
In the opening minutes of the second half, first year
Natalie Frazier cut the Hawks lead in half with her eighth goal of the season to make it 2-1. Hartford responded by registering three quick shots with Cassano picking up another two saves while Rebecca Opdenbrouw's shot hit off the left post. UMass Dartmouth battled in the closing 15 minutes of play as Frazier and first year
Isla Thompson each fired a shot forcing one save from Hawks goalkeeper Sejal Johnson.
With 81:48 on the clock, the Corsairs earned a late penalty kick after Andrea Buzas committed a foul inside the box. Senior
Ashlyn Aguiar stepped to take the penalty kick for UMass Dartmouth and calmly placed the ball into the back of the net to tie the score up at 2-apiece. Despite a late shot on target by Frazier that Johnson denied, the Corsairs sealed the road draw by a final score of 2-2.
Despite the score, Hartford outshot UMass Dartmouth 26-6 in the contest and held a 14-4 edge in shots on-goal. The Hawks also earned six total corner kicks compared to the Corsairs with two corners in the game.
Frazier recorded her eighth goal of the season after posting 3-of-3 shots on-goal for the Corsairs. Aguiar earned her first goal as a Corsair with her game-tying penalty kick goal in the final minutes of the game.
Russo made her third start in net for the Corsairs recording three saves and allowing two goals after 27 minutes of play. Cassano finished the game with nine total stops in net and zero goals allowed to help cement the 2-2 road tie. Johnson recorded two saves and allowed two goals in net for the Hawks.
UMass Dartmouth returns to Little East Conference (LEC) play on Saturday, October 4 at VTSU Castleton. The conference tilt is scheduled for a 12:00 p.m. kickoff.
