Box Score BOSTON, Mass. – An hour before Eastern Connecticut State University's Little East Conference women's soccer semifinal-round match against the University of Massachusetts Boston Thursday, Taylor Shannon (Waterford) pulled on a goalkeeper's jersey for the first time ever.
It was a perfect fit. Literally and figuratively.
At right: A career field player until Thursday, Taylor Shannon makes a kick save in the final seconds of the first half.
Pressed into service in goal for the first time in her soccer life due to an injury to freshman starter Chelsea Santos (Windsor Locks) two days ago, Shannon – with lots of help from her friends – shut out top-seeded UMass Boston, 1-0, to propel the fifth-seeded Warriors into Saturday's championship match.
Senior midfielder Tamar Merheb (Bethel) scored the only goal of the match in the 38th minute and Shannon made four as the Warriors became the first No. 5 seed to reach the Little East Conference championship match with their semifinal victory over the 2012 playoff champions Thursday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center Field.
At left: Jamie Belden (14) and Megan Godwin converge on UMass' Tayla Andrews in Thursday's semifinal win.
Eastern visits No. 2 seed Keene State College (17-4-1) in Saturday's 1 p.m. championship match (note time change from noon). The Owls earned a spot in their 11th final with a 5-0 home victory over No. 3 seed Massachusetts Dartmouth. Eastern and Keene have met five previous times in the championship match, the Warriors prevailing four times (three times winning as the No. 2 seed over No. 1 Keene on the latter's home field). Keene has won two championships, none since 2004.
With its second 1-0 win this year over UMass (15-5), Eastern (10-8-1) advances to the championship match for the eighth time in the last 11 seasons. The only team this year to defeat regular-season champion UMass in the regular-season, Eastern has won three LEC championships, most recently in 2011 when the No. 2 seeded Warriors upended top seed Keene State College on penalty kicks on the losing team's home field.
An All-LEC midfielder, Merheb broke a scoreless tie with 37:41 gone with her third goal of the season when she found freshman back Jamie Belden's (Middlebury) rebound off senior midfielder Nicole Leonard's (Rutherford, NJ) corner kick and poked it through the defense from six yards. Belden's initial shot off the corner appeared headed into the net but was cleared off the line by a UMass defender stationed at the left post.
The team's starting midfielder through the first 12 matches of the year, Shannon was making her first appearance since fracturing her foot three weeks ago
Shannon was cleared to return to the field Wednesday and agreed to step in at goal after freshman Chelsea Santos (Windsor Locks) sustained a concussion in the final minutes of Eastern's 1-0 first-round win at No. 4 seed Western Connecticut State University Tuesday.
"Taylor is a team player," offered senior center back Megan Godwin (Manchester). "She offered to go into goal because both of our goalies are injured. She showed a lot of heart and everyone wanted to play for her, so that's why we really came to play on the back line today."
Shannon made four saves, three in the first half. While Shannon was settling in to her new position, Eastern survived five UMass corner kicks in the first half. The Beacons controlled the tempo and possession in the opening half, but Eastern had the better of play after the break.
Conference scoring leader Krista Ledin (32 goals) collected eight shots, but Eastern's defense of Godwin, Belden, All-LEC sophomore center back Gia Karahalios (South Windsor), junior Whitney Mantel (Stamford) and sophomore Alyssa Valenti (Tolland) allowed only one of them to reach goal.
One of Ledin's best chance came four minutes into the second half when she unloaded a 12-yarder on a 2 v 1 opportunity but it rode just wide of the right post. Eight minutes later, Shannon raced off her line to slide out and break up an opportunity by Ledin, and the Eastern defense cleared the ball out of the box.With 21 minutes left, Sam Cristoforo possessed a corner kick taken from the right at the left of the goal, but her bid to tie the match hit the left post.
UMass' last serious thrust came with 12 minutes left, when Tayla Andrews made a long serve from the left wing through the box. The ball eluded a first teammate in the box and a second one crashing from the right wing before the hosts were eventually whistled for being offside.
Ranked in a tie for sixth in New England, UMass became Eastern's ninth shutout victim this year, seventh by a 1-0 score. Since losing to Eastern a month ago, the Beacons had won nine straight. They are 13-2 in their last 15 matches, both losses to Eastern.
Seven of Eastern's last eight matches have resulted in 1-0 decisions, the Warriors winning five.
