The Massachusetts women’s soccer team couldn’t execute on either side of the ball in a 3-0 loss on Sunday to Boston College.
The Minutewomen (2-2-2) were shutout in their previous game in a 0-0 draw against UMass Lowell, leaving the offense eager to score. Despite the offense generating chances near the goal, UMass couldn’t execute for the second game in a row.
“I thought we played some really good soccer at stretches and created some really good chances, and we didn’t reward ourselves,” head coach Jason Dowiak said.
The final blow for the Minutewomen came in the 86th minute when the Eagles (4-1-2) put the game out of reach. Boston College’s Tess Barrett took a corner kick, leading to the ball being batted around in front of the goal. Eventually, the ball reached Junior Sophie Reale at the best of the box, who shot the ball for the Eagles’ third and final goal of the game.
Boston College took advantage of its opportunities on corner kicks throughout the whole game, with their second goal coming from one as well. In the 54th minute, Barrett took the kick once again, setting the ball up perfectly in front of the net. With the ball in a perfect position, Sophia Lowenberg headed it in for her third goal of the season.
“We’ve given up too many corners throughout the season … so that hurts because we have talked so much about it,” Dowiak said. “We’ve got a little team pact; they would have got ice cream if they hadn’t given up a set piece goal.”
UMass kept its ice cream hopes alive with the first goal, which did not come off a corner kick. In the sixth minute, the Eagles got a goal from Emily Mara. The freshman dribbled the ball close to the net and shot into the best left of the goal while falling out of bounds, to make the score 1-0.
Despite giving up three goals, redshirt freshman Leah Nisenfeld was a bright spot, making an impressive total of six saves and keeping her team in the game.
While the Minutewomen could not get on the scoreboard, the opportunities presented themselves, but they didn’t execute. With eight shots in both the first and second halves, UMass tallied only two shots fewer than Boston College. Converting shots into goals has proved to be a challenge for Dowiak’s young squad.
“We got players who we know can put the ball in the back of the net … it’s just being able to handle the pressure of the moment and being able to execute,” Dowiak said. “I think it just comes with time.”
Although young, the Minutewomen have shown hunger to learn and get better while getting their offense rolling. With a whole week off, UMass will go to work to get back in the win column.
Dowiak mentioned that he had a lot of confidence in his team, and he was proud of their performance even if the score didn’t reflect it.
“We’ll get back to talking to players about the moments they are getting into, show them those moments in live training and give them more experience,” Dowiak said.
The Minutewomen will compete in their first ever game in the Mid-American Conference on Sunday, Sept. 14 as they look to jump-start their offense. The game is scheduled for 1 p.m. against Ball State at Rudd Field. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
Rosie Follet can be reached at [email protected].
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