The Massachusetts women’s soccer team used two first-half goals to clinch its third consecutive victory, beating Saint Joseph’s 2-1 in its Atlantic 10 opener on Sunday in Philadelphia.

Sophmore Rebekka Sverrisdottir gave the Minutewomen (5-5-1, 1-0-0 A-10) an early 1-0 advantage in the eighth minute, heading home her first career goal off a free-kick pass by Grace Coombs.

UMass tacked on its second score in the 35th minute when Becky Landers scored her first career goal, finishing off a pass from Madison Smith with a header of her own, giving UMass a comfortable 2-0 lead.

While his team has recently struggled getting off to a strong start in games – going scoreless in the first half of their previous two matches – UMass coach Ed Matz was happy that his team broke through early.

“It’s good to score two goals the way we scored them, they were just beautiful goals,” he said. “It took a lot of pressure off the players. There was still a lot of time left on the clock, but we knew we had a lot to do. ”

Sunday’s match marked the third time this year in which two different Minutewomen scored in a win. Eight different UMass players have registered goals this season.

Team depth was a key trait that Matz knew this team was capable of displaying on the field heading into the season. For him, the way his players have gone about accomplishing their team goal of playing has been nothing short of impressive.

“It’s something I knew we had the capability of, but, until you go out and do it, I’m impressed with the players,” Matz said. “They’ve done a good job of having different people step up in every game.”

“We believe that, as a team, we have many different ways of winning the game.”

Heading into the game, the Minutewomen were faced with the tough challenge of stopping Hawk’s captain Mo Hawkins. Hawkins – the two-time A-10 Midfielder of the Year – entered Sunday’s game with seven points on three goals and one assist.

UMass freshman Julia Weithofer was tasked with trying to slow down Hawkins. According to Matz, her defensive performance deserved more credit than it received.

“She did a great job of barking Mo Hawkins, one of the best players in the conference,” he said of his defender’s efforts. “Her performance got overlooked a little today, but she did a very good job.”

Saint Joseph’s made things interesting in the 78th minute after freshman Emily Gingrich tapped in a loose ball, cutting the UMass lead down to one goal.

However, a crucial free-kick block by the Minutewomen in the 88th minute closed the door on a potential Hawks comeback.

Both teams finished with 12 shots a piece for the game, while the Hawks held a 6-5 advantage in corner kicks.

UMass goalkeeper Danielle Kriscenski stopped four shots for the second consecutive game, while Lauren Jancuska registered six saves for Saint Joseph’s.

Joey Saade can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Jsaade1225.