AMHERST — Goals from Lauren Bonavita and sophomore Jenny Hipp, and strong defense and goaltending helped the UMass women’s soccer team secure its fifth consecutive win Thursday.
The Minutewomen defeated Duquesne, 2-0, at Rudd Field in their Atlantic 10 opener.
For the first 20 minutes, the game was fairly even, with a couple close misses and pressure from both sides, but UMass struck first when Bonavita kicked it past Duquesne goalie Kyra Murphy in the 29th minute for her first goal of the season. Fatou Barry and Signe Schioldan assisted on the tally.
UMass took control for the rest of the first half and trotted off a 1-0 lead. Coming out in the second half, the Minutewomen did not relinquish their control. Hipp was able to find the back of the net eight minutes into the second half for her fourth goal of the season. She got assists from Rebeca Frisk and Nadni Sclafani.
“Everyone who plays defense shows 100 percent commitment. They jump into every ball, they fight 100 percent, and I think you need those people behind you to play so well offensively,” Hipp said.
UMass’ defense made sure the lead held. The Minutewomen (6-2, 1-0 A-10) only allowed nine shots.
“We can’t get complacent, but we’re definitely happy with the results and we’ve been working hard so we just need to stay hungry and keep going and bring this into the next game,” junior defender Jenna Thomas said.
Peyton Ryan made eight saves for the clean sheet.
UMass’ five-game win streak is its longest since 2011, when the Minutewomen won six in a row.
“I think we’re really excited, but our wins in the past don’t help us to win the games in the future, so I feel like it’s just really important to focus on the next game and not underestimate any team,” Hipp said.
UMass has only allowed one goal in the past five games.
“We’ve got a great goalkeeper in Peyton Ryan that positions herself well to prevent the chances when we do let them slip through,” UMass coach said. “All five of the girls that played back there today; their intellect and how to defend and how to position themselves is awesome for me.” UMass coach Jason Dowiak said.
UMass continues conference play at Rhode Island at 1 p.m. Sunday.
“Getting that first win in the conference was huge for us, just to kind of keep ourselves in the driver seat, but we know we’ve got some tough ones coming up,” Dowiak said.