MANSFIELD, Conn. – Emily McKelvey scored twice to lead top-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University to a 3-1 victory over second-seeded UMass Boston in the 2026 Little East Conference (LEC) Women’s Soccer Championship final Saturday at Rick McCarthy Field.

Faith Corona added a goal for the Warriors, while Michaela Gasparri and Glenda Zhiminaicela each recorded two assists.

Eastern Connecticut midfielder Glenda Zhiminaicela was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after recording two assists in the championship victory.

The Records

Eastern Connecticut: 13-2-2
UMass Boston: 7-7-5

HOW IT HAPPENED

McKelvey opened the scoring at 26:43, finishing off an assist from Kylie Gentile to give Eastern Connecticut a 1-0 lead.

The Warriors doubled their advantage at 40:32 when Corona scored with assists from Zhiminaicela and Gasparri. Eastern Connecticut carried the 2-0 lead into halftime after outshooting the Beacons 12-3 in the opening period.

UMass Boston answered just 56 seconds into the second half. Lucinda Cotter scored off assists from Camryn Trick and Lorelai Leddy to trim the deficit to 2-1.

The score remained unchanged until McKelvey struck again at 80:13. Gasparri and Zhiminaicela assisted on the goal, restoring the Warriors’ two-goal cushion with less than 10 minutes remaining.

Inside The Statistics

• Eastern Connecticut held a 22-8 advantage in shots and a 10-3 edge in shots on goal.
• The Warriors finished with five corner kicks to the Beacons’ four.
• McKelvey led all players with six shots, including four on goal.
• Alex Ignatowicz made two saves for Eastern Connecticut.
• Janiya Matier recorded seven saves for UMass Boston.

Up Next

Eastern Connecticut awaits its NCAA Division III tournament assignment following the conference championship victory.