McDermott, Copeland Lead Women's Soccer to 4-1 Win over UMass

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Junior forward Jordan McDermott (East Bridgewater, Mass.) tallied a pair of goals and sophomore forward Molly Copeland (North Falmouth, Mass.) added a goal and an assist to lead the Bridgewater State University women's soccer team to a 4-1 victory over visiting UMass Dartmouth on Thursday afternoon at Swenson Field.

Bridgewater improves to 5-6 on the season while UMass falls to 3-11 with their fourth straight defeat.

After spotting the Corsairs an early 1-0 lead, Bridgewater finally got on the board with just over three minutes remaining in the opening half.  Senior midfielder Kylie Beaton (Epsom, N.H.) sent McDermott in on a breakaway and the Bears leading scoring took full advantage of the opportunity as she beat the UMass keeper for her fifth goal of the season.

After the intermission, Copeland potted the go ahead tally in the 61st minute off a restart as she headed in a long volley from senior midfielder Amanda Vigneault (Ludlow, Mass.). 

McDermott notched her second goal of the game and sixth of the season in the 72nd minute of play, tucking a shot from 35-yards out just under the crossbar to give BSU the 3-1 lead.  Junior forward Stephanie Muscato (Peabody, Mass.) rounded out the scoring in the 83rd minute.  Standing almost parallel to the goal line, Muscato curled a shot inside the far post for her first marker of the season.

Freshman forward Erica Jonasson (Wrentham, Mass.) gave UMass the early 1-0 advantage as she was sent in on a breakaway off a nice feed from sophomore forward Jillian Van Ness (Agawam, Mass.) in the 20th minute.

Bridgewater State held a 16-12 advantage in shots as well as an 8-3 edge in corner kicks.

Senior goaltender Kayla Grover (Haverhill, Mass.) turned aside eight shots to post her fifth win of the season for the Bears.  UMass senior Tanya Braga (Hudson, Mass.) registered five saves between the pipes for the visitors.  The Corsairs also picked up a team save in the 34th minute with the score still 1-0.  A Copeland header off a cross was labeled for inside the far post but was turned aside by a UMass defender.

Bridgewater will travel to Framingham State University on Saturday for an early 10:00 AM Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference match with the Rams. UMass hosts Little East Conference foe Plymouth State University at one o'clock on Saturday.