KEENE, N.H. – Neither team found the back of the net at the Owl Athletic Complex on a rainy Saturday morning with Michaela DiCiccio making seven saves in net for the Keene State College women's soccer team as KSC gained a point in the Little East Conference standings with the 0-0 draw against the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
Records
- Keene State: 3-4-2 (1-1-1 LEC)
- UMass-Boston: 2-4-3 (1-0-1 LEC)
How it Happened
UMB's attack had a chance to open the scoring early, but DiCiccio made a save in net and the Owls' defense turned away both corner kick attempts from the Beacons in the first nine minutes of the contest. KSC flipped the field for their first two chances of the day but the Beacons' goalkeeper, Janiya Matier, saved a shot from each
Keely Giordano and
Emily O'Connell a minute apart. After Matier's two saves, Giordano found the back of the net off a pass from
Elizabeth Tschudin, but Giordano was called offsides and the goal was disallowed. Over the next 16 minutes the Beacons took six shots, but of the three that were on target, DiCiccio saved keeping the contest scoreless heading into the 28th minute. In the remaining 17 minutes of the opening half, KSC had two more shots to try to take the lead heading into halftime but a shot from each
Bryn Dickinson and Tschudin both missed the target as the game went into the half tied at 0-0.
Three minutes into the second half
Elise Saab ripped a shot on goal on a free kick, but UMB flipped the field quickly, leading to a breakaway, but DiCiccio came out of the goal and denied the chance for the Beacons but in the process, she picked up a yellow card. DiCiccio's card waved off the goal that the Beacons scored as the play was blown dead, while on the ensuing free kick on the edge of KSC's box, Camryn Trick sent the shot wide of the goal and the Beacons came away emptyhanded. UMB continued to apply the pressure on the attack over the next 20 minutes as DiCiccio made a pair of saves before Devan Booth looked to draw even, but her shot rang off the crossbar, bounced down off DiCiccio in front of the goal line, and the Owls' defense blocked the follow up shot to keep the Beacons off the board in the 73rd minute before DiCiccio made yet another save a minute later once again. Saab had a pair of shots on goal over the next 12 minutes with a free kick being saved and a header from a corner kick being saved by Matier to keep the contest still without a goal with under five minutes remaining. The remainder of the contest the Beacons applied the pressure as they had multiple opportunities but were unable to convert. UMB's best chance came with under two minutes remaining with the ball loose in the Owls' box, but after it looked like the Beacons would find the back of the net,
Jada Lucas cleared the ball away from the Owls' line as the last player standing between the ball and the goal as the Owls held on for the 0-0 draw to pick up the point in the LEC standings.
Inside the Box
- KSC moves to 17-10-6 in the all-time series between the two teams with UMB having the slight advantage over the past four contests with one win over KSC to go with three ties.
- DiCiccio posted her third shutout across the past four games in net for KSC as she made seven saves, while Matier made five saves in net for UMB over the 90 minutes.
- Saab led the Owls in shots on target as she recorded three in the contest with two coming from free kicks and the other coming on a header from a corner kick.
- Lucas played a big role in KSC's defense as she recorded 41 minutes in just her second career appearance for the Owls after playing eight minutes in her collegiate debut in the Owls' win over Worcester State University.
- UMB had the edge on shots, 16-8, shots on goal, 7-5, and on corners, 5-2, in the contest.
Up Next
Keene State returns to non-conference action for their next contest as the Owls travel to take on Wheaton College (Mass.) on Wednesday, September 30, at 4:00 PM.
UMass-Boston returns to action in another LEC contest for their next matchup as the Beacons will host Western Connecticut State University on Saturday, October 3, at 4:00 PM.
