BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Freshman midfielder Luan Cruz (Everett, Mass.) netted is first collegiate goal with just 19 seconds left in the second half to lift the visiting UMass Boston men's soccer team to a dramatic 2-1 victory over Bridgewater State University on Tuesday night at Swenson Field.
Cruz drove a header into the left side of the cage off a corner kick sent into the six by sophomore defender Diego Gisholt (Newton, Mass.) to give the Beacons the stunning win.
The Beacons improve to 4-2-1 on the season, while the Bears fall to 1-4-1. UMass now holds an 12-8 advantage in the all-time series.
UMass broke a scoreless tie in the 38th minute as the Beacons converted off a restart. Freshman midfielder Ryan Lima's (Lynn, Mass.) shot from 35 yards out was deflected by a leaping BSU defender at the wall and the ball found its way into the left side of the cage.
UMass nearly made it two-goal game in the waning seconds of the first half. Lima got behind the defense off a nice through-ball from Cruz and flicked a shot that deflected off the crossbar and over the net.
The Beacons would take the 1-0 lead into the break.
The Bears, who held the edge in play for much of the second half, had two very good scoring chances off long throw-ins within the first ten minutes of the stanza. A header attempt by senior forward Robson Montrond (Brockton, Mass.) in the 53rd minute sailed over the net, while Montrond's redirect in the 55th minute was stopped by UMB junior keeper Qasim El-Ashkar (Salem, Mass.).
BSU senior netminder William Russell (Sandwich, Mass.) made a terrific kick save to keep it a 1-0 game when freshman forward Nick Braganca (Beverly, Mass.) got behind the defense in the 62nd minute.
The Bears kept the pressure on and a header by attempt by sophomore midfielder Nicolas Matias (Milford, Mass.) off a long volley from freshman midfielder Gavin Norton (Rockland, Mass.) in the 82nd minute was knocked over the crossbar by a leaping El-Ashkar.
Bridgewater finally broke through with just 3:27 left to play. A long throw-in by senior midfielder Joseph Madden Jr. (Milford, Mass.) into the six evaded the UMB defense and found junior midfielder Ethan DeMelo (Acushnet, Mass.). DeMelo easily deposited a shot into a wide-open left side of the net for his first collegiate goal.
The game appeared as though it would end in a draw, but the Beacons earned three corner kicks in the final 66 seconds with Cruz capitalizing on the last one.
UMass finished with a slight 18-17 shot advantage for the game as well as a 14-6 edge in corner kick attempts.
El-Ashkar made eight saves to record his third win of the season for the visitors. Russell turned aside eight shots in the setback for the Bears.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday afternoon. The Bears travel to Framingham State University for a two o'clock MASCAC affair with the Rams, while the Beacons host Little East foe Plymouth State University at noon.