PROVIDENCE, R.I. – In just its fourth varsity season, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women’s soccer team played for an NCAA Division III national championship. The Corsairs’ 1992 run to the final was the high point of a six-year stretch in which they went 81-21-8, reached three consecutive NCAA tournaments in an era before conferences had automatic qualification, made three ECAC tournament appearances and captured a share of their first Little East Conference (LEC) title.
BUILDING THE PROGRAM
Ray Cabral started the program as a club team in 1988 and guided the Corsairs to an 11-5-0 record in their first varsity season in 1989. When the Little East began sponsoring women’s soccer in 1990, the Corsairs went 14-4-0 overall and 2-1-0 in conference play. They won all eight home matches, earned their first ECAC New England Division III tournament berth and produced the league’s inaugural Rookie of the Year in forward Julie Smalley.
The Corsairs won 14 games again in 1991, finishing 14-3-0 overall and again going 2-1-0 in the LEC. They went 9-2-0 at home and advanced to the ECAC semifinals. Forward Lisa Duncan gave the program a second consecutive LEC Rookie of the Year in the same year Southeastern Massachusetts University joined the UMass system and became UMass Dartmouth.
FROM FIRST NCAA BID TO THE NATIONAL FINAL
UMass Dartmouth went 14-1-1 in the 1992 regular season, including another 2-1-0 LEC mark, to earn its first NCAA tournament bid. The Corsairs opened the tournament at Salem State, advancing 3-2 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw in their NCAA postseason debut. They defeated Kean, 1-0, to open regional play before beating host Plymouth State, 1-0 in overtime, the following day to win the New England Regional title. The victory reversed a 2-1 regular-season loss to the Panthers on the same field.
The Corsairs traveled to Fredericksburg, Va., for the Final Four, where they defeated host Mary Washington, 1-0 in double overtime, in the national semifinals. Leanne Morris scored the winner in that match in addition to both regional victories, finishing as the NCAA tournament’s leading scorer with three goals. Cortland State defeated UMass Dartmouth, in the national championship match the next day, 1-0. The Corsairs finished 17-3-2, setting a program record for wins in a season that still stands today.
Goalkeeper Rachael Barbarossa started all 22 matches, making 130 saves with a .915 save percentage and a 0.56 goals-against average. She and Kathy Regan earned NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team honors, with Regan also named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player. Marybeth Callahan led the Corsairs with 11 goals and eight assists, while Kim Serrecchia added 11 goals and four assists to become the program’s third straight LEC Rookie of the Year. Callahan, Lisa Gomes and Annmarie Gagnon earned All-LEC honors.
FIRST LITTLE EAST TITLE
The Corsairs followed their national runner-up finish with the program’s first LEC championship in 1993, sharing the regular-season title with Plymouth State after both teams went 2-0-1 in conference play. UMass Dartmouth drew 2-2 with the Panthers on Oct. 2 and shut out Eastern Connecticut, 3-0, on Oct. 19. The Corsairs finished 12-2-3 overall and returned to the NCAA tournament, where Rochester ended their season with a 2-0 victory in Plymouth, N.H.
UMass Dartmouth went 14-4-0 overall and 2-2-0 in the LEC in 1994, earning a third straight NCAA bid. Amherst defeated the Corsairs, 4-2 in double overtime, in the first round. Barbarossa became the program’s first All-American and earned her second consecutive All-LEC selection. Serrecchia also earned All-LEC honors at midfield.
POSTSEASON STREAK GOES TO SIX STRAIGHT
The Corsairs went 10-5-3 overall and 4-2-0 in conference play in 1995. They defeated Eastern Connecticut, 2-1 in overtime, and closed the regular season with an 8-0 win over Rhode Island College. Their sixth consecutive postseason appearance brought them back to Plymouth State, where the Panthers won, 1-0, in the ECAC tournament. Serrecchia earned First Team All-LEC honors after moving to the back line. That year, Gagnon became the first UMass Dartmouth student-athlete to receive an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
HALL OF FAME HONORS
Cabral finished his seven varsity seasons with a 92-26-8 record and was named LEC Coach of the Year in each of the conference’s first four seasons, from 1990 through 1993. The 1992 team entered the UMass Dartmouth Hall of Fame in 1996, while Barbarossa and Cabral were inducted as individuals in 2000..They were both inducted into the LEC Hall of Fame in 2021, and the 1992 team joined them in 2025.
The Little East Conference is celebrating its 40th anniversary during the 2026–27 academic year with its LEC 40 for 40 Series, highlighting the people, programs and moments that have shaped conference history.