BOSTON, Mass. - Junior Sophia Onek (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) scored the game-winning goal, breaking a 1-1 tie in the 72nd minute, to lead the visiting Western Connecticut State University Wolves to a 2-1 win over the University of Massachusetts Boston Beacons in the semifinal round of the Little East Conference (LEC) Women's Soccer Championship Tournament this evening at James Cotter Field.  No. 3-seeded WestConn improves to 11-5-5 and extends its unbeaten streak to eight games (4-0-4), while advancing to the LEC Championship Finals on Saturday against top-seeded Southern Maine.  No. 2-seeded UMass Boston sees its season end with an 11-4-5 mark.  The Wolves will be playing in the LEC Finals for the ninth consecutive season and lost at Southern Maine in the 2022 and 2023 LEC Finals.

"We played together and with a purpose tonight," said WestConn senior midfielder Olivia Kotsaftis. "Where ever we play, we prepare, we play smart and show up strong."

WestConn jumped on the Beacons right off the bat, taking a 1-0 lead on a goal by junior Hannah Blacher (Allendale, N.J.) and assisted by senior forward Suzana Imetovski (Seymour, Conn.) 1:23 into the game.  The Wolves offense continued to apply pressure, getting off six more shots before UMass Boston scored its first goal on its first shot of the contest.  Kathryn Brown tiled the game for the Beacons in the 18th minute with assists credited to Daniella Celotto and Devan Booth.  Both teams had chances later in the first half, as WestConn sophomore Gracen Regan (Monroe, N.J.) and UMass Boston's Isabella O'Connor each had to make two saves to keep the score at 1-1 until the break.

The Wolves offense came out strong again in the second half, forcing O'Connor to make four more stops in the first 27 minutes of the second half with three coming off Imetovski's foot and the fourth taken by Blacher.  Onek finally broke through with 17:09 on the clock with an unassisted marker.  The WestConn back line rose to the challenge down the stretch, yielding just a single shot-on-goal that Regan turned away in the 74th minute.  O'Connor finished with 11 saves and Regan improved to 7-3-4 with three saves.  WestConn finished with a 17-to-11 shooting edge and benefited from 10 Beaco fouls while committing just three.