Hughes Tallies 100th Career Point as UMass Bests URI 2-1

KINGSTON, R.I. – Massachusetts (8-3-4, 3-2-1 A10) scored two unanswered to complete the 2-1 comeback over Rhode Island (7-4-3, 2-4-0 A10) in hostile territory on Saturday night.

Alec Hughes broke his individual scoring drought, netting his first goal since Sep. 17 to open the scoring for UMass. The graduate forward's goal earned Hughes his 100^th career point, joining Jeff Deren '03 as the only Minutemen to hit the century mark.

Aidan Kelly scored the game-winner for Massachusetts, finishing a broken-up set piece out of a free kick to put UMass ahead in the 65^th minute. Strong defending by Alex Geczy sealed the win for the Minutemen, totaling six saves for the senior goalkeeper.

Breaking Down the Action

Massachusetts came out of the gates firing, with Johan Feilscher recording the first shot on goal for UMass in the first minute of action. Edu Rodriguez was able to make the save.
Brandon Bermingham and Keegan Walker each fired shots on goal for the Rams, with Geczy making back-to-back diving saves to keep the game scoreless.
Geczy would make a third-consecutive save in the 17^th minute, but a follow by Walker netted the first goal of the game to give URI the lead.
Hughes fired his first shot of the night, forcing Rodriguez to make his second save of the night.
Geczy and Rodriguez traded saves in the 27^th and 30^th minutes, as each keeper would finish the half with four and three saves respectively.
Hughes refused to let halftime approach without an equalizer, netting a setup from Oliver Akintade to tie the game at 1-1 in the 37^th minute.
Carrying his momentum into the second half, Geczy saved back-to-back scoring efforts from Rhode Island as both sides spent the first 19 minutes of the new half scoreless.
Aidan Kelly put the Minutemen on the high side, finding the back of the net in the 65^th minute to make it a 2-1 game.
Akintade attempted to double the lead in minute 80, as Rodriguez was able to make his fourth and final save of the contest.
Bermingham had one last effort in the 87^th minute for an equalizer, but a team defensive effort silenced any hope of a comeback.

Up Next
The Minutemen host Duquesne at Rudd Field next Saturday for Senior Day in the final home contest of the regular season. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. with action streaming live on ESPN+.

Scoreboard

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Team Stats

Alec Hughes

Aidan Kelly

Oliver Akintade

Matt Cence

Players Mentioned

Oliver Akintade

Johan Feilscher

Alex Geczy

Alec Hughes

Aidan Kelly

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics