After 288 long days, the Massachusetts women’s soccer team took the field again to kick off the 2026 season with a 2-1 victory over St. Johns and wasted no time, scoring two goals in the opening 12 minutes.
“We started the game in the most ideal fashion on the front foot… we wanted to be very attack minded and I thought the group that started absolutely crushed it,” head coach Jason Dowiak said.
The Minutewomen’s (1-0) second reason to celebrate Thursday came when they notched their second goal exactly four minutes after their first, 11:57 into the game.
Finding themselves with a free kick in front of their goal, Peyton Costello set up for the kick, with the ball finding its way in front of the goal after bouncing off Amelia Deren. Annie McCaffrey was in perfect position and wasted no time, sending it into the bottom right to make the game 2-0.
This was the junior midfielder’s first collegiate goal despite playing in all 17 games for UMass last season and was the deciding goal in Thursday’s hard-fought battle.
“[McCaffry’s] kind of like our Rocky. She is willing to just sacrifice her body and work hard and get in the way of things,” Dowiak said. “She is a big piece and leader on the team.”
The Minutewomen displayed their hard work from the offseason with their first goal of the season coming in the eighth minute. UMass had been in control of the ball for much of the game up to that point, and it was Caroline Dickson who opened the scoring for her team in epic fashion.
McCaffrey initiated the play for the Minutewomen by battling past a Red Storm (0-1) defender and sending the ball to Kalia Steen in the deep right corner or the field. Steen quickly sent the ball right in front of the goal, where Dickson was perfectly settled.
Using her athleticism, Dickson sprang in the air, reaching the ball with her head and placed her first goal of the season into the top right of the net. With only about eight minutes recorded in the 2026 season, UMass found themselves celebrating.
“Every year [Dickson] has come back and just been better than she was the year before,” Dowiak said. “She is just built differently… she is supremely athletic; she can jump out of the stadium and just [rise] up above everybody.”
For the rest of the contest, St. John’s held the Minutewomen off the board, but their defense was ready to do their part.
The Red Storm did eventually get through the cracks of the UMass defense when Nora Basile scored in the 65th minute.
The Minutewomen were defending their goal, and passed the ball back to their goalie, Leah Nisenfeld to settle the possession. Nisenfeld sent the ball right into Basile’s possession, giving her the perfect opportunity to put the Red Storm on the board, beating Nisenfeld in the one-on-one and making the score 2-1.
With 25 minutes left to play, it was time for the UMass defense to shine, and that they did, keeping St. John’s to only eight shots and being smart with the ball in front of the goal. Twenty Minutewomen got to see the field in the win, which kept legs fresh for the final push of the game to clinch the win.
“Really proud of how our team was prepared to kill the game off for the last four or five minutes, that’s something that we have talked a lot about,” Dowiak said.
UMass play next on August 20 at 2 p.m. for their home opener at Rudd Field. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
Rosie Follet can be reached at [email protected].
