DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- For the second time in three matches, the Eastern Connecticut State University Men's Soccer offense was shut out, falling to UMass Dartmouth, 1-0, on the road, snapping an eight-match unbeaten streak against the Corsairs that dated back to the 2017 season, which was another 1-0 loss for the Warriors. Eastern has now dropped three consecutive matches, all of which have been in Little East Conference play, with three remaining in their last four matches of the regular season.
Junior forward Daniel Jordan was credited with the lone goal of the match for the Corsairs, as sophomore midfielder Nick Scanlon found him on the left side of the pitch in the offensive zone. Jordan found enough space to pull away from the Warrior defense, working himself into a one-on-one situation with junior goalkeeper
Jack Harmon. Harmon would fall to the ground in hopes of making the stop, but the shot would slip to his right in the 58th minute, giving UMass Dartmouth the 1-0 advantage.
Across the entire match, both sides would be evenly matched, with 10 fouls in both directions, resulting eventually in four second-half yellow cards for Eastern, while the two teams exchanged just two corner kicks apiece. Despite holding an 11-7 edge in shots overall, only three would reach the net for Eastern, as was the case for UMass Dartmouth, but similar to the WestConn affair, the Warrior offense was shut down in the second half, getting held to just one shot on goal.
Senior forward
Ben Syphrett finished with a team-high two shots on goal in the match for the Warriors, while first-year forward
Brad Balgach had the other shot on goal, all of which were stopped by first-year goalkeeper Edward Corliss and senior goalkeeper Cole Berman, who combined for the three saves. Harmon would finish the 1-0 loss with two saves, both coming in the first half, while the Eastern defense held the Corsairs to no shots on goal in the second half.
Eastern will prepare for UMass Boston at Rick McCarthy Field next Friday as the Beacons come to town for a 6:30 PM kickoff. The Warriors have lost their last five meetings against the Beacons dating back to the 2022 season, falling to them in shutout fashion the last two seasons, 3-0 on the road, and 1-0 at home the season before that.
