Eastern Connecticut State University

MANSFIELD, Conn. -- First-year forward Brad Balgach netted his fourth goal of the season for Eastern Connecticut State University Men's Soccer on Tuesday evening against UMass Boston on Rick McCarthy Field, but two second-half goals from the Beacons sank the Warriors for a fourth straight match, 2-1. The loss is the fourth consecutive in Little East Conference play as well for Eastern, who now sit at 2-4-0 with two matches remaining in the regular season.

Those two crucial matchups will come against the University of Southern Maine on the road this weekend and Rhode Island College next Wednesday at home. As it stands, the Warriors are tied for the sixth and final spot in the tournament with Plymouth State University, which holds the tiebreaker due to their 1-0 head-to-head win earlier this year in Mansfield, Connecticut.

However, outside of WestConn in the top spot, everything remains unsettled in the two through six spots as 11 points give UMass Dartmouth and Rhode Island College a tie for second, while UMass Boston now sits in fourth at 10 points, and Southern Maine in fifth with eight points. As it stands, there is still a chance for the Warriors to move up into a spot where they would host a Little East Conference Tournament match.

While Balgach's goal for Eastern came in just the eighth minute of the contest, it would be one of only three shots that the Warriors had on goal against graduate goalkeeper JJ Devine in the defeat. Devine's only save of the first half came in the 34th minute against first-year midfielder Max Montejano, after Balgach scored on a header crossed in off a free kick by sophomore defender John Bennett that put Eastern on the board. 

On the other end, junior goalkeeper Jack Harmon only made one save, despite the Beacon offense rifling off seven shots in his direction across the first 45 minutes, which saw the Warriors head into the break with a 1-0 lead. Although there would be a few close calls with open lanes or shots that went just wide of the goal mouth, the Eastern defense held its own throughout those bouts of sustained pressure that UMass Boston placed on them. 

That pressure continued into the second half in which the Beacons outshot the Warriors by a 9-4 margin, forcing Harmon to make five saves, one of which included a leaping save with his hand to keep the match tied at one all. Just before that, junior midfielder Eduardo Chirico knotted the match up in the 52nd minute as senior forward Ryan Doherty's initial shot was stopped by Harmon on a sliding save, before Chirico made the most of his opportunity off the ricochet. 

Only 14 minutes later, first-year midfielder Pedro Moraes received a ball on the right side of the pitch in the box, using the space he was given to place a shot into the opposite bottom corner of the net, past Harmon, for what would be the game-winning goal of the affair. Moraes goal came on a pair of passes from sophomore midfielder Gustavo De Paula and junior defender Parker Hamilton for his first of the year. 

As time wound down, Eastern would continue to look for chances in the offensive zone, struggling to generate anything against Devine, while nearly missing on an 86th-minute attempt by Balgach that went just over top of the goal. Devine's only other save came in the 59th minute against senior forward Patricio Vidales, as he finished the match with two saves overall.

Junior forward Idman Hodzic nearly gave UMass Boston some more breathing room in the 88th minute as Harmon was out of position in net, but the Eastern defense came up with a huge block in front to keep it a one-score match. However, no opportunities would come the way of the Warriors in the final couple of minutes in the 2-1 bout, which also marked their sixth consecutive defeat against the Beacons in the all-time series. 

Playing in their final road match of the regular season, Eastern heads to the University of Southern Maine on Saturday at 1:00 PM to face the Huskies, whom they hold a 29-6-5 record against in the all-time series. The Warriors are unbeaten against Southern Maine in their last 17 all-time matchups since 2008, with 13 of those coming by way of a shutout victory, while tying the last two meetings.