Box Score BOSTON – The University of Massachusetts Boston has more or less had its way with its Little East Conference opponents over the last three regular seasons, the exception being Eastern Connecticut State University.
UMass Boston (9-4-3, 4-1-1 LEC), which is closing in on its third LEC regular-season title in four years, has failed to win only six of 20 regular-season conference contests over the last three campaigns en route to LEC playoff titles in each of those years.
Half of the six matches which the Beacons have failed to win have come at the hands of Eastern (7-7-2, 1-3-2 LEC). With junior goalkeeper Ryan Murphy (Cromwell) in net, the Warriors have not lost to UMB in the regular season over the last three years, defeating the Beacons by 2-1 scores in both 2015 and 2016, then tying them, 0-0 in double-overtime Saturday at James Cotter Field.
Saturday, Murphy collected a season-high ten saves – three in 20 minutes of overtime when the hosts outshot the Warriors 7-0– in running his career regular-season record to 2-0-1. In the process, he lowered his GAA against UMB to 0.62 and brought his three-year save total against the Beacons to 27.
UMB keeper Omar Castro-Dreher made five saves, one difficult one coming on a shot off the foot of freshman forward Danny Shayler (Avon) early in the game.
UMass outshot Eastern, 19-11, but the Warriors made a bid to end the contest in regulation with three late corner kicks and a pair of throw-ins.
With a victory instead of a tie over UMass – coupled with Saturday losses by Plymouth State and Keene State -- the Warriors would have maintained a glimmer of hope to qualify for the LEC tournament for the 11th straight year under 11th-year head coach Greg DeVito. A six-time LEC regular-season and five-time LEC playoff champion under DeVito, Eastern would have needed to defeat the University of Southern Maine on the road this coming Saturday and gotten help from Rhode Island College and UMass Dartmouth in defeating Plymouth and Keene, respectively, in order to squeeze into the fourth and final playoff spot.
Eastern hosts Lasell College in its final regular-season home match Tuesday at 3 p.m. on Seniors' Day.
