The Massachusetts women’s soccer team took down Rhode Island in a narrow 2-1victory on Sunday afternoon at Rudd Field, securing its third win in a row.
With two goals scored by graduate students Ella Curry and Hannah Peric, UMass (8-3-1, 3-1-0 Atlantic 10), relied heavily on its upperclassmen, who carried the team through a physically taxing 90 minutes.
In a 1-1 stalemate that started in the 18th minute of the first half, the Minutewomen went through many changes, especially in the second half, as head coach Jason Dowiak dug deep into the roster in search of an offensive spark against the Rams (4-5-2, 1-3-0 A-10) defense.
“It was actually the depth of the team and the players that came into the second half that helped us kind of regain control of possession and really create that final chance,” Dowiak said. “… but either way it was just awesome to see the adjustments that players actually made when they came in and had their moment to influence the result.”
As the new players made their way onto the field in the second half and produced many offensive opportunities, a chance finally came through and the duo of Curry and Peric struck.
After forward Caroline Dickson won a 1-on-1 with a Rhode Island defender that resulted in a shot that was inches from hitting the net, it set UMass up for a corner kick, where Curry lined up and sent the kick deep into the box.
With Curry’s ball coming in with a slight curve on it, this allowed Peric to have the positioning needed to head the ball into the top right corner, putting the Minutewomen up 2-1 in the 74th minute. This was Peric’s first goal of the season and Curry’s third assist of the year.
Curry was involved in both goals scored on the day, as the first score came from a free kick in the fourth minute of regulation. With a powerful shot, Curry sent the ball untouched into the bottom left corner of the net.
“[Curry’s] free kick was struck very well and just good movement in front of it to cause some chaos in front of the keeper, so it was nice to get that early goal again and inside the first five minutes kind of felt like a target for us,” Dowiak said.
It did not take long for the Rams to respond, as their scoring attempts became more and more intense as time ticked away after the first score.
Rhode Island came in quick with its attacks, and after a collision took down Curry in the backfield, UMass was down a player as the Rams continued toward the net. Catching the defense off guard, Tierra Garniss sent a kick past Minutewomen goalkeeper Bella Mendoza for a goal in the 19th minute.
Despite the one goal in the first, Mendoza and the defenders bounced back and held Rhode Island scoreless for the remainder of the game, as Mendoza tallied four saves on seven shots by the Rams.
On offense, UMass recorded 15 total shots, with nine taken in the second half, as the adjustments out of halftime led to a more connected unit on offense, putting more pressure on the Rhode Island defense and goalie.
As the Minutewomen’s home-field dominance has struck once again, pushing them to a 5-1-1 record at Rudd Field this season, they will be forced to bring their momentum on the road, heading to Washington D.C. to face George Washington on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 3 p.m.
Samantha Sands can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @samantha_sands_
