Revenge…nothing is sweeter.

The University of Massachusetts women’s soccer team was 12-1 overall against the University of Rhode Island heading into Sunday’s match, with the only loss coming last year in a 3-0 disappointment at Kingston, RI.

It may seem like the loss happened a long time ago, but Coach Jim Rudy and his players, coming off a three game winning streak, have long memories and refused to allow another letdown to their conference rivals.

“We had good focus today,” sophomore forward Erin Lilly said. “We lost to them last year and we couldn’t have that today.”

In its first conference game of the season No. 21 UMass [3-1, 1-0 Atlantic 10] defeated URI [3-2, 0-1 A-10] by a 3-1 margin at Totman Field on Sunday. The physical match up included two yellow cards and a plethora of uncalled penalties by both squads.

The Maroon and White offense pushed the Ram’s defense back right from the get go, bending it back and waiting for it to break. Just six minutes into the game, Lilly dropped a pass inside to freshman Stephanie Santos. No. 17 quickly lobbed the ball over the middle to junior Martha Conover, who, with a header, beat the URI keeper Jamie Epperlein and put UMass in the lead.

Led by Lilly and all-conference player Brooke Bartlett, the UMass offense continued to cause headaches for the URI defense throughout the first half.

“Those two worried the hell out of them,” Rudy said. “Whatever they finished up with statistically is immaterial. They kept that team so busy that it opened everyone else up. That’s why they are great players.”

Lilly chalked up another assist at 17:32, taking a Katelyn Jones pass and dropping the ball right in front of the net to a wide-open Michelle Luttati. The Westford, Mass. native drilled the ball into the back of the net for her first collegiate goal and a 2-0 UMass lead.

“Erin Lilly worked her ass off today,” URI coach Geoff Bennett said during the second half.

The Rams finally posed a true threat minutes later when senior forward Shannon Kittelson broke free to the goal. UMass Goalkeeper Julie Podhrasky came way off her line, cutting Kittelson off. Podhrasky knocked the ball away, taking both Kittelson and herself down to the ground. Some holding and pushing went on soon after, with a yellow card eventually issued to Kittelson at 31:04, one that Podhrasky admitted to instigating.

“I wouldn’t let her get up,” Podhrasky said. “But she was on top, so it looked like she was pushing me. She was really just trying to get up. I hooked her with my arm. I was just looking at the ball and holding her down.”

With her keeper on the ground, junior defender Alexi Rudd preserved the shutout with a terrific diving save on a shot by URI’s Catherine Zanni.

The Minutewomen extended their lead to 3-0 on a Katelyn Jones header from Santos and Luttatti.

URI missed another golden opportunity before the half on a miscommunication by Rudd and Podhrasky that left the net open, but Ram Sarah Johnston missed the shot, giving Podhrasky enough time to recover and smother the ball.

Bennett had his Rams squad pumped up for the second half. With the Minutewomen feeling the injuries they suffered from the previous week, URI kept the ball in its offensive third for the first seven minutes of the second half. The seemingly winded UMass squad struggled to keep the shutout intact.

“Martha Conover sprained her ankle midweek,” Rudy said. “Jones hurt her shoulder midweek. Brooke Bartlett hurt her ankle last weekend. So Kat [Machamer] had to work much harder and our other center, Michelle Luttati had to work so much harder.

“When we attacked aggressively,” Rudy added, “that was a lot of running, and that sort of ran us out. By the time I tried to repair it, they had begun to grab hold of the game, and this is a game of ebbs and flows. And you certainly saw that today.”

After a few near misses on corner kicks and on an indirect kick, URI junior Heather Kasparek sent a pass across the face of the goal to sophomore Dana Mantella, who drilled a shot over Podhrasky’s right shoulder into the net, closing the gap to 3-1.

Sensing his players’ fatigue, Rudy sent three freshmen substitutions onto the field in a four-minute period. Playing four freshmen with the game on the line, Rudy would admit later, was a combination of needing fresh bodies and a developing trust in his younger players’ abilities. Rudy managed to keep the younger players evenly distributed throughout the field, keeping veterans mixed in with his greener talent.

“These kids need to learn how to run out a game,” Rudy said. “[But] we didn’t disrupt a whole area at once.”

More missed opportunities plagued the Rams for the remainder of the game, which ended at 3-1. URI actually managed more shots, 14-10, than the UMass squad, but couldn’t capitalize on its opportunities.

The Minutewomen were pleased to begin their A-10 schedule with a victory, seeing it as another integral beginning section in a long season.

“Today was another start for us,” Lilly said. “We got [over the] UConn loss when we won [last Sunday over Binghamton] and today is a whole other thing, [starting] A-10’s.”