PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Plymouth State University women's soccer team fell to the University of Massachusetts Boston Beacons, 8-3, in its Little East Conference (LEC) opener on Arold Field Saturday afternoon.
The match was a slugfest from the start, as the first half produced six goals from the two teams.
Junior
Molly Bellmore (Hebron, Conn.) led the Panthers with two goals, while classmate
Nevaeh Petruzzi (Newmarket, N.H) scored her fifth goal of the season on an assist from sophomore
Ella Fraser (Nottingham, N.H.). Graduate student
Tess LeDuc (Marlborough, Mass.) also recorded an assist in the losing effort.
PSU surrendered an early goal, but Petruzzi answered back in the eighth minute to tie the score. The Beacons responded with three straight tallies before Bellmore made it a 4-2 game with just 1:05 left in the first half. The teams traded goals to start the second half, but UMB closed out the game with three straight goals to account for the final score.
Plymouth State falls to 3-3-0 (0-1-0 LEC), while the Beacons improve to 5-1-2 (1-0-0 LEC) on the season.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 3, UMass Boston 8
- Plymouth State (3-3-0, 0-1-0 LEC)
- UMass Boston (5-1-2, 1-0-0 LEC)
How it Happened:
- The Beacons scored the first goal of the contest in the fourth minute as a combination through the middle broke down the Panthers' back line and the UMB striker managed to tuck the ball away to the near post.
- Plymouth State answered in the eighth minute, as a strong counterattack led to Petruzzi with the ball on the top of the box. The Panther forward rifled a shot to the top right corner to even the scoreline (1-1).
- UMass Boston wasted no time to regain the advantage, 2-1, when a short corner play got served to the back post and found the head of a Beacons' player.
- UMB extended the lead to 4-1 with goals in the 18th and 31st minutes of play.
- Plymouth State scored the final goal of the exciting first half in the 44th minute as Bellmore struck a ball back across goal to bring the score to 4-2, keeping the Panthers in the mix for the second half.
- UMass Boston restored a three-goal lead in the 56th minute to put the scoreline at 5-2.
- The Panthers kept pushing, as Bellmore registered her second goal of the afternoon in the 61st minute to keep the team in the hunt for the comeback.
- UMB proved too strong as the team put home the last three tallies of the contest to put the game out of reach.
By the Numbers:
- UMB outshot the Panthers 18-10.
- Shots on goal were in the Beacons' favor, 10-7.
- PSU registered 3 corner kicks to 9 for the Beacons.
- The three Panther goals were the most against UMass Boston since the 2007 season.
- It was the highest scoring contest (11 goals) between the two teams since the 2000 season, where the Panthers shut out the Beacons 12-0.
- Plymouth State is now 8-6-1 at home against UMass Boston.
- The Panthers hold a 15-13-2 advantage over UMB in the head-to-head matchup dating back to 1995.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State travels to Northfield, Vermont to face Norwich University on Wednesday (Sep 25). Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Howard Field.
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