Dioubate Points Pioneers to 1-0 Win Over Boston

Second half substitute Alpha Dioubate scored a minute after he was summoned from the bench to lead the Pioneers to a 1-0 win over the Victory on Friday at Lusitano Stadium.

Dioubate, who came on in the 65th minute, scored the decider in the 66th minute while Western Mass keeper Warren Gross made five saves to keep Boston off the board.

Defender Trey Jasenski was ejected in the 50th minute following his second yellow card, leaving the Pioneers with ten men for the majority of the second half.

“With the ejection of Jasenski, we needed to change our system to account for the missing player,” Pioneers head coach Federico Molinari said in a post-game release. “We were able to finish strong defensively which also directly lead to several scoring opportunities.”

The cross-state rivals traded early jabs early, with Zico Veiga and Ruben Resendes leading the Victory charge. The Pioneers countered with John Dumbuya and Ryan Malone, who sent a shot off the bar 26th minute.

Although both teams knocked on the doors, Jasenski wasted no time attracting trouble when he was booked for a hard foul on Veiga in the fourth minute.

Five minutes into the second half, Jasenski was issued his second yellow and subsequent ejection. With only 10 men for the remaining 40 minutes, the Pioneers relied on position – and a spark off the bench – in its search for three points.

Enter Dioubate. Coming off the bench shortly after the hour, the striker went right to work. On the counterattack, Dioubate seized a long ball inside the box, and buried it past keeper Jordan Bar for the short-handed tally in the 66th minute.

The best the Victory could to find the scoresheet came when Resendes issued a shot that strayed wide of the left post in the wake of Dioubate’s goal.

Western Mass will return to action on May 23 against the Vermont Voltage at Lusitano Stadium. Boston resumes its home slate on Saturday with the Seacoast United Phantoms visiting Veterans Memorial Stadium for the first time.