Women's Soccer Falls to UMass Dartmouth, 3-1

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting UMass Dartmouth women's soccer team posted a 3-1 non-conference victory over Bridgewater State University on Tuesday night at Swenson Field.

The Corsairs, winners of five straight, improve to 9-1-1 on the season with the win.  Bridgewater drops to 5-6-2 overall as the Bears are 0-4-1 in their last five games.

Senior midfielder Vanessa Demelo (Fall River, Mass.) scored off a direct kick in the 15th minute to give the Corsairs the early 1-0 lead as her shot glanced in off the near post.  UMass had nearly scored moments earlier as BSU senior keeper Kristen Rowe (Burlington, Mass.) made a brilliant save to rob UMass sophomore forward Maura Goncalves (Dartmouth, Mass.) in the 12th minute.

The Bears' best scoring chance in the opening stanza came late in the period as freshman forward Mackenzie Hatfield's (Whitman, Mass.) shot hit the cross bar.  The ball came straight down off the bar, spun away from the goal line, and the UMass defense was able to clear it out.

The Corsairs would take the 1-0 lead into the intermission. UMass held an 8-3 shot advantage over the first 45 minutes as well as a 3-1 edge in corner kicks.

Goncalves staked the visitors to a 2-0 advantage in the 66th minute with her team-leading ninth goal of the season off an assist from junior defender Kathleen Landers (Danvers, Mass.).

Bridgewater cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 81st minute as sophomore midfielder Lauren Bandoian (Medford, Mass.) scored on a header goal off a corner kick from junior forward Caley McClendon (Keene, N.H.).

The Corsairs answered right back, however, as less than a minute later junior forward Tori Pierce (Tiverton, R.I) intercepted a bad pass on the right side, dribbled through two defenders and ripped a shot from off the far post and in from just outside the 18.

UMass outshot the Bears by a margin of 15-8 for the game and also finished with a 7-2 edge in corner kicks.

Corsair junior goaltender Krista Chauvin (Seekonk, Mass.) made four saves to post her ninth win of the season.  Rowe turned aside four shots in the first half for the Bears, while junior teammate Kerry Condon (Whitman, Mass.) played the final stanza and recorded three saves.

In upcoming action, Bridgewater travels to Framingham State on Saturday for a noontime MASCAC contest with the Rams.  The Corsairs entertain Little East Conference foe UMass Boston on Saturday afternoon at one.