Fitchburg State Silences UMass Boston, 2-0

 Pacini nets first goal of season in Falcon second victory of the season

FITCHBURG, Mass. (September 3, 2008) - The Fitchburg State men's soccer team registered a 2-0 shutout victory over UMass Boston in non-conference action this evening at Elliot Field.

Sophomore Robbie Pacini (Stoneham, Mass./Stoneham) and senior Jeffrey Loven (Littleton, Mass./Littleton) led the Fitchburg State offensive attack, as each player registered their first goal of the season. Senior captain Jude Connelly (Harvard, Mass./Bromfield School) chipped in with one assist.

Fitchburg State opened the scoring midway through the first half as Pacini recorded for the first goal of the game.  Connelly started the drive by blasting a shot at Beacon goalkeeper Domenick Persuitte (West Barnstable, Mass./Barnstable), but Pacini took the rebound and deposited into the back of the net to give the Falcons the lead.

In the second half, Fitchburg State increased its lead to 2-0 as Jeffrey Loven connected on a Falcon penalty kick in the 66^th minute. UMass Boston threatened late in the second half as junior Collins Dibia (Medford, Mass./Medford) put a shot past Falcon goalkeeper Matt Carey (Stratford, Conn./Stratford), but Connelly hustled to the net and made a diving kick-save to preserve the shutout.

Fitchburg State and UMass Boston each had 13 shots apiece in the contest. Matt Carey earned the shutout for the Falcons, recording two saves in the complete game effort, while Persuitte totaled six saves for the Beacons.

Fitchburg State (2-0, 0-0 MASCAC) is back in action on Saturday as it hosts Nichols College at 10 a.m. UMass Boston (0-1, 0-0 LEC) will travel to Emerson College on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

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Fitchburg State 2, UMass Boston 0

Scoring:
First Half: FSC: Robbie Pacini (Jude Connelly), 33:34
Second Half: FSC: Jeffrey Loven, 65:28;
Goaltending: FSC: Matt Carey (90:00), two saves; UMB: Domenick Persuitte (90:00), six saves
Shots On Goal: FSC: 13; UMB: 13