On a hot and windy Sunday afternoon, the Massachusetts women’s soccer team looked to record its second Mid-American Conference win. The Minutewomen (4-5-2, 2-3 MAC) did just that, handing Central Michigan its 10th loss of the season in a 2-0 victory.
Entering Sunday, UMass was returning to play following a 5-2 loss at the hands of Western Michigan, sitting at No. 11 in the conference standings. Its last win was a 1-0 victory over Akron on Sept. 18.
“[We’re] feeling good about [Sunday],” head coach Jason Dowiak said. “Especially the first half was probably the best 45 minutes string we’ve put together all season. Really happy we were able to bounce back after … not our best performance … against Western [Michigan].”
In the first half, the Minutewomen attempted four shots on Chippewas’ (0-10-2, 0-4-2 MAC) goalkeeper Jadia Kershaw’s net and applied pressure on their hosts’ defenders. At the end of the 90 minutes, UMass totaled eight shots, with four being on target.
The Minutewomen also earned eight corners, compared to Central Michigan’s four. The corner kick aided in their fast momentum and play, giving UMass a chance to control the pace and movement of the ball.
“I thought what we did a lot more frequently [Sunday] was change the point of attack,” Dowiak said. “We shifted the field a lot more; our wingers have grown up a lot over the course of this year to be a lot more patient in the wide areas and open up to get into free spaces.”
With a starting 11 mainly composed of underclassmen, the Minutewomen seemed finally settled into their rhythm.
Emma Burke and Macy Graves were UMass’ goal-scorers of the afternoon, both notching their first of the season.
The Minutewomen earned their win in the 81st minute when Burke found the back of the net. From a free kick by the team’s sideline, Amelia Bloom controlled the ball to the ground, tipping it towards the redshirt senior. Burke then finished Bloom’s tap, rolling the ball under Kershaw’s arm to give UMass a 2-0 lead.
Graves’ goal came in the 10th minute from a lobbed kick into the box that Caroline Dickson grounded and then passed back to the graduate student captain. From the edge of the box, the New Hampshire native shot into the bottom left of Kershaw’s net, handing the Minutewomen an early lead.
“Of the four years [Graves] has been healthy and able to play, she’s been doing stuff that has just been raising the bar every year,” Dowiak said. “She’s our captain for a reason … [Burke’s] goal was a fantastic delivery on the free kick from [Bloom].”
Despite being unable to find a way through the UMass defense, the Chippewas came close to putting a goal on the board. Late in the first half, in the 39th minute, Melaina Troy shot from the penalty spot seemingly into the net to level the scoreline. However, Minutewoman goalkeeper Leah Nisenfeld got her hands on the ball and pushed it out behind her net.
Nisenfeld faced 15 shots, making six crucial saves to get her fourth clean sheet. The redshirt freshman now has 51 saves this season and has only allowed 16 goals to sneak by her in net.
“[Nisenfeld] has been such a sound presence for us in goal,” Dowiak said. “More than anything, she’s grown.”
One yellow card was handed out Sunday to the Chippewa’s Olivia Bretz after she jumped for the ball, but slammed UMass’ Annie McCaffrey to the ground. The physicality of the game was felt with 27 total fouls being committed. A total of 19 came at the hands of the Minutewomen, and the remaining eight can be credited to Central Michigan.
UMass will be back in action on Oct. 9 to host Buffalo. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.
Emma Bensley can be reached at [email protected].
