By Adam Kysiak
Western Mass shuts out Boston Bolts in 2-0 victory.
A beautiful performance by the Western Mass Pioneers (6-2-1) on a beautiful Friday evening as they handle Boston Bolts (2-3-4) in Lusitano Stadium. The Pioneers held the Bolts scoreless throughout this game, sweeping the series 2-0 and putting them atop of the USL2 Northeastern table as of now.
The Pioneers were hot to start the game, scoring their first goal in the 8th minute after forward Mamadi Jiana took a header towards the net after he caught goalkeeper Nikola Antic off his line.
After multiple missed opportunities and chances by Western Mass, it was a brilliant pass by forwards Augustine Boadi and fake by Oskar Kaufmann which led to an open shot by midfielder Jorge Veintimilla Martinez to secure the victory in the 91st minute of play.
The Pioneers also dominated for most of the game, only allowing two shots on their goal berating the Bolts with crosses and free kicks. Midfielder Israel Neto helped push the offense to its maximum potential by knifing his way through defenses and opening lanes for his wingers.
Western Mass’ defense was tormenting the Bolts, clearing every through ball and aggressively challenging the opposing forwards. Defender Juan Hermoso was everywhere; clearing the ball, bringing it up, challenging attackers and playing in the opposing team’s box.
With the all-around performance by the Pioneers, it puts them at the top of the Northeastern table with 20 points. “It was a game we needed to win,” said Head Coach Federico Molinari. “It [helped] us get back on track to where we were before the tie and the loss.” Western Mass started off the USL2 2025 season with five wins and one draw, but within the last week they drew against Black Rock FC and lost against rivals Vermont Green FC. “It was a tough week for us, but I think the team played very well today… we got the three points and that is what matters.”
Molinari came into the match with a set gameplan in mind: Play fast and tire them out. “They played on Wednesday and we played on Tuesday, so we knew at some point they were going to get tired [before us],” said the Head Coach. The Pioneers were running down the wings with Jiana and forward Robbie Lyons, putting constant pressure on the Bolts’ help defenders. “The idea was to try to move the ball and find our outside midfielders and use that position to go one versus one or run behind their defender.”
With the Pioneers back on top of the table, they have to hope that Vermont Green will not maintain form, as they sit just one point behind with two games in hand.
The Pioneers will play against the defending National Champions Seacoast United on Wednesday, June 25th at 7:00 p.m. located in Epping, New Hampshire. Game can be streamed on NBC Sports Engine.
