On Thursday evening, the Massachusetts women’s soccer team played in its third Atlantic 10 game. Going into the night, UMass (7-3-1, 2-1 Atlantic 10) looked to jump past Fordham to second place in the conference. Ella Curry provided two key assists that helped the Minutewomen do just that in their 4-2 win.
The rainy conditions didn’t seem to stop Massachusetts’ offense, which was led by the graduate student Curry and her two assists. Curry’s first assist came in the 24th minute off the head of Chandler Pedolzky. Curry was the first to the ball after her corner kick came loose, and she whipped it into the box for Pedolzky to take. Pedolzky scored, although she injured her leg in the process and was carted off the field.
Five minutes later, Curry led another UMass scoring chance. With the ball, the midfielder wove in and out of traffic before laying a pass to Nia Hislop. Hislop played the ball to the Minutewomen’s leading scorer Bella Recinos who nearly scored. Before the Rams (6-3-2, 1-1-1 A-10) could even clear the ball away, Curry ended up with the ball again. This time, her pass to Hislop worked out much better, as the forward delivered a perfect cross to Recinos who put the ball in the back of the net.
With those two plays, Curry set the tone for the match within its first 30 minutes. From there, UMass didn’t turn back.
Curry, who plays both at center back and in the midfield, recorded her first two assists in conference play this season and expressed her desire for more. The graduate student described postgame the difference in offensive opportunities she gets playing at center back compared to the Minutewomen’s attackers. However, she hopes to take advantage of any future opportunities she may get.
As head coach Jason Dowiak said, UMass was able to “spread the wealth” with four different goal scorers on Thursday. Pedolzky, Recinos, Juliana Ryan and Ashley Lamond all found the net for the Minutewomen against Fordham. Thursday marked UMass’ highest scoring conference game since last October, when the team defeated Loyola Chicago 4-1.
In addition to her pair of assists, Curry had a single shot on goal in the 52nd minute. With the Minutewomen in possession, a pass hit the midfielder’s chest and she rocketed off a volley outside of the box. It was Curry’s fourth shot on goal this year, which could have resulted in her second goal.
To complete her stat sheet, Curry was shown a yellow card after tackling the Rams’ Abby Borchers at midfield in an effort to halt the opponent’s attack. It was Curry’s first card of the year and UMass’ first of three bookings in the game.
Curry started the game and after coming out in the 62nd minute, she returned to the field just nine minutes later. Her quick return was a decision that Dowiak hoped would bring key energy back onto the field to halt Fordham’s comeback attempt in the game’s dying embers. The decision was a successful one, as the Rams failed to score over the game’s final 20 minutes.
With her two assists on Thursday, Curry now has four points on the season. Her continued success can help the Minutewomen maintain their place towards the top of the A-10 standings.
UMass will be back in action against Rhode Island on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Rudd Field. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
James Badeau can be reached at [email protected].
