Hughes Hat Tricks as UMass Dominates Dartmouth in 5-0 Shutout

HANOVER, N.H. – The Minutemen (4-1-2) continued to their high-level play on both ends on Tuesday night, cruising to a 5-0 victory over Dartmouth (1-3-1).

Alex Geczy tallied his second-straight clean sheet, good for his fourth of 2024. Alec Hughes netted the game-winner for UMass, scoring his second hat trick of the year and 10 goals in five games. Hughes stands second among All-Time goal scorers in program history (45), trailing only Jeff Deren '03 (48). Matt Cence added on a goal and two assists on the night for a four-point performance.

Breaking Down the Action

Hughes extended his scoring streak to five games early in the third minute, receiving a through ball from Cence to net his eighth goal of the season.
Just under four minutes would pass before Hughes notched his third multi-goal game in four games after a pressing effort by Cence won UMass the ball in the Big Green's box.
Shane Velez found net for the third time this season, netting a beautiful no-look pass from Layton Purchase to give the Minutemen a 3-0 advantage.
Massachusetts totaled three goals and 13-straight shots before Dartmouth's offense found its first shot attempt of the night in the 20^th minute.
Kristian Feed recorded the Big Green's first shot on goal, as Geczy made the save to keep Dartmouth scoreless.
Geczy would make two more saves as the Minutemen took a three-goal lead into halftime.
Hughes notched his second hat trick in three games in the 57^th minute, sending a setup from Andrew Ortiz into the left side of the net to increase the lead to four.
Cence would finish off his four-point night with a strike to the right side of the net from outside of the box to give UMass a 5-0 advantage in the 73^rd minute. Purchase tallied his second assist of the night to put Cence in position.

A Look at the Numbers
45: Alec Hughes is now up to 45 career goals, trailing only Jeff Deren ('03) with 48.
9: UMass won the shots on goal battle 9-4, out-shooting Dartmouth 25-12 in total shots.
4: Alex Geczy is up to four clean sheets on the season, saving four shots tonight.
4: Matt Cence put together a four-point night, tallying a goal and two assists.
3: Shane Velez scored his third goal of the season. The sophomore has scored three goals in the last four games.
3: Hughes recorded his second hat trick in three games. He now has 10 goals in five games.

Up Next
UMass is back at home on Sep. 21 for a Saturday matinee matchup against George Mason at Rudd Field. Action is set to begin at Noon with action streaming live on ESPN+.

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