Box Score NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Freshman forward Emily Becher (Brooklyn) scored two goals for the second straight match as the Eastern Connecticut State University women's soccer team clinched a first-round home match in the Little East Conference playoffs with a 2-0 shutout of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Saturday night at Cressy Field.
A winner of five straight, Eastern (10-5-1, 4-2 LEC) reached the ten-win plateau in a season for the 13th time in 15 years under head coach Chris D'Ambrosio and stretched its unbeaten streak against UMass Dartmouth (8-8-0, 3-3-0 LEC) to 19 (18-0-1).
Eastern entered the match sharing third place in the conference with UMass Dartmouth and Keene State College. Keene knocked off unbeaten conference leader Western Connecticut, 1-0, in double overtime Saturday night to keep pace with Eastern in third place.
Becher, the top freshman scorer in the Little East, recorded her 11th and 12th goals to power the Warriors. She gave Eastern a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute and a two-goal cushion less than four minutes into the second half.
Behind four saves from junior keeper Rachel Skelton (East Lyme), Eastern's defense posted its fifth shutout of the year. UMass had shut out its last two opponents and had won five of its last seven.
The match marked the return of sophomore back Jamie Belden (Middlebury), who had missed nine matches due to injury. She started for the seventh time this year, playing all 90 minutes.
Eastern hosts Manhattanville College Wednesday at 6 p.m. on Seniors' Night.
