Friday, May 18, 2012
LUDLOW, Mass. – The Western Mass Pioneers beat the Boston Victory 1-0 in a close battle at Lusitano Stadium for their first matchup in franchise history. The victory was the Pioneers' first of the season as they rebounded from a narrow defeat in their opening game of the season, while sending Boston to its second consecutive loss.
Western Mass' Alpha Dioubate entered the game in the 65th minute and made an immediate impact scoring the game’s only goal in the 66th minute.
The match was a tough battle, which had five yellow cards and saw Pioneers defender Trey Jasenski receive his second yellow in the 50th minute, leaving his side down a man for the final 40 minutes of the game, after an errant tackle. Despite that, the Pioneers clawed their way to victory, withstanding Boston's pressure that saw them come close, but fall short, as they tried to equalize.
“The Boston Victory seemed to dominate the first 20 minutes of the match,” said the Pioneers' first-year coach Federico Molinari. “We were able to swing momentum when Ryan Malone had a breakaway shot that clanged against the post and bounced out. With the ejection of Jasenski, we needed to change our system to account for the missing player. We were able to finish strong defensively which also directly lead to several scoring opportunities.”
The Western Mass Pioneers' next match is on Wednesday night at Lusitano Stadium as theyy host the Vermont Voltage at 7:30 p.m. Both of the long-time rivals will be aiming for victory as they try to gain ground on Northeast Division leader Seacoast United, who face the Victory on Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.