WORCESTER, Mass. —UMass Dartmouth finished off a 2-1 victory over the Lancers on a cold, wet night. The Lancers fell to 9-4-2 on the year while the Corsairs rose to 6-5-2 on the season. Alicia Macomber (Stoughton, Mass.) was a solid bright spot for Worcester State as she tallied her 39th goal of her career (eighth on the season). The goal makes Macomber third all-time in the history books for career goals.
The Corsairs started off the game with all types of offensive pressure on the Worcester State back line. About three minutes into the game, the pressure would come back to hurt them, as Worcester State was able to attack with a quick transition that would leave Macomber wide open. After a pass out from the back, Macomber had a one-on-one break away with the goalie. When the Lancers senior forward attacked the goal, she maneuvered around the keeper with a nifty dangle that left the goal wide open for an easy tap in to take the 1-0 lead.
Less than a minute later UMass Dartmouth struck back. Sophomore midfielder, Abby Silva (Fall River, Mass.), stole the ball from the Lancers back line as she was able to find a soft spot between the Worcester State defense and took advantage. As Silva was falling back, she was able to whip in a curling ball on frame that dipped right over the Worcester State keeper and tied the game at one.
UMass Dartmouth was able to continue their momentum into the second half. After a clearing attempt from Worcester State was blocked, freshman midfielder, Courtney Hewitt (North Attleboro, Mass.), was able to steal the bouncing ball and direct it towards Nicole Starkey-Cox (Warwick R.I.). Starkey-Cox was able to shield off a defender and toe the bouncing ball on goal which then lobbed over the Lancer keeper and found its way into the goal. That would end up being the winning goal as the Corsairs would take the 2-1 victory.
Both the Corsairs and Lancers attempted ten shots, but the Corsairs led with three shots on goal while Worcester State had two.
UMass Dartmouth's Madison Boucher (Southampton, Mass.) had two saves on the night and allowed one goal while Vanessa O'Donnell (Worcester, Mass.) had five saves. Boucher's performance helped her improve to 6-5-2 and O'Donnell's loss makes her fall to 0-2-0 on the season.
Worcester State's next battle against Bridgewater State is for regular season supremacy. Winner of this game will receive the MASCAC regular season title and the number one playoff seed. A senior day ceremony will be prior to the 11:00 kick off on Saturday, Oct. 31. UMass Dartmouth travels to Eastern Connecticut for their next conference matchup on the same date.
Release written by Connor Haynes, Sports Information Intern