Oct. 13, 2004
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Minutemen Return Home After Five On The Road
UMass hosts Dayton following a five game road stand ... this will be the first home game for UMass since defeating New Hampshire on Sept. 22 ... the Minutemen are 3-2 on the season at Rudd Field ... four of the last seven games will be at home.
The five-game road series was the longest during the regular season for UMass since 2000...the Minutemen were 4-1 on that series and finished the season at 12-6-2...the longest road series in program history was during the 1962 season when UMass played six consecutive games on the road.
Overtime has been the rule rather than the exception over the last six games. Five of those games went into the bonus period, including three double overtime matches. On the season, UMass has played in six overtime games (three 2OT) posting a 3-1-2 record.
Inside The Series
Last season, Xavier (11) and Dayton (18) were ranked in the national top-25 when they visited Rudd Field. The Minutemen (13) entered the matches with a 7-2-1 record but fell to both teams in the second week of A-10 action.
Xavier defeated UMass 3-1 receiving two goals from Tom Skudrzik and one from Brandon Lalley. Rob Charest scored his only goal of the season in the match.
Dayton came away from Amherst with a 3-2 victory on goals from Antti Arst, Mpoki Tenede and George Nanchoof. Oral Bullen and Ptah Myers scored the two Minutemen goals to tie the game before Nanchoof hit the game-winner in the 64th minute.
Both game series are tied at 2-2 when played in Amherst.
UMass last defeated both teams in 2002. UMass took a 2-0 win over Xavier and a 5-2 win over Dayton.
Koch Captures No. 150 at UMass
Head coach Sam Koch recorded his 150th UMass victory on Sunday with a 2-1 double overtime win at George Washington. In his 15th season, he has the most wins of any men's soccer coach in program history. Among active collegiate coaches, Koch ranks among the top-50 with 208 victories in his 20 seasons on the sideline.
Pace Has Career Day At Richmond
Pace scored a career-high two goals in the Minutemen's comeback attempt at Richmond (10/8).
Both goals occured in the second half. His first goal came at 79:27 when his header to the right post found the back of the net. He went down in the box score again when he scored at 86:25 beating Eric Sciocchetti on a penalty kick.
Pace currently ranks third on the team with two goals, three assists and seven points.
Kitchell Makes First Goal Of 2004 A Big One
Junior Tim Kitchell's golden goal in the second overtime at George Washington was huge for the Minutemen as it gave UMass at 2-1 win. Here's a look at some of the other consequences from his shot.
...head coach Sam Koch picked up his 150th win.
...UMass earned its first A-10 win of the season.
...UMass earned its first road win of the season.
...UMass picked up it first win in five games (1-2-2).
...a UMass player other than Rob Charest scored a golden goal.
...the goal was the first of Kitchell's career who has played in 39 career games (mostly as a defender).
Minutemen Set Overtime Record
With six overtime games this season, UMass has set a team record for the category. The previous high was four set back in 1997.
Of the six overtime games this season, three have been double overtime matches. Five of the last six games have gone into bonus periods.
UMass holds a 3-1-2 record in overtime matches including a 1-0-2 record in double overtime.
The Monte CHristo Sandwhich
Just over half of the UMass travel party experienced the joy that is the Monte Christo sandwhich on Sunday evening. The Monte Christo is a ham, turkey, and cheese sandwhich which has been deep fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar. It traditionally includes a side of raspberry jam for dipping.
Of the 23 people (19 players, two coaches, one trainer, and one SID), only three had ever had a Monte Christo before.
Only one player, Tyler Pagano, was able to take down the entire sandwhich - although everyone who ordered the Monte, enjoyed the Monte.
Charest Earns A-10 Player Of The Week
Sophomore Rob Charest earned Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors for the week of Sept. 19-26 after leading UMass to its second overtime victory of the season with two goals, including the game winner, against New Hampshire.
Charest was also named the Dinn Brothers/UMass Athlete of the Week for his efforts.
In the Minutemen's 3-2 overtime victory against New Hampshire, Charest scored his second golden goal of the year. The goal, scored in the 99th minute of play, secured the third win of the season for UMass and was Charest's second goal of the game. In the 71st minute, Charest hit the equalizer to knot the score at 2-2 giving UMass the chance for the overtime victory. Against Hartford (9/14) Charest also scored twice including the game-winner in the 104th minute of play.
Burns Gets Offensive
Senior goalkeeper Colin Burns acheived a first for his collegiate soccer career when he placed his named in the offensive portion of the box score against Siena (9/14). Burns boomed a free kick nearly 65-yards allowing freshman Matty Lemire to set-up Oral Bullen's third goal of the season. Burns tallied the first assist of his career on the play.
Recapping The GWU Win
Junior Tim Kitchell's (Pompton Plains, N.J.) golden goal in the 105th minute gave Massachusetts a 2-1 double overtime win over Atlantic 10 rival George Washington on Sunday afternoon. The win was the 150th UMass win for head coach Sam Koch and the 208th of his career.
Kitchell managed to head the ball into goal from point-blank range following a scrum in front of the net following a UMass throw-in. Sophomore Ralph Pace (Boston, Va.) managed to flip the ball into the air allowing Kitchell to strike the ball into the air with the back of his head for his first goal of the season. The ball richocetted off the cross bar and crossed the goal line giving UMass its first A-10 win of the season.
Freshman goalkeeper Nick Billman (St. Louis, Mo.) was strong in the net for UMass recording five saves and improving to 2-3-1 on the season.
UMass opened the scoring when sophomore Rob Charest (Monson, Mass.) headed his team-leading, sixth-goal of the season past GW keeper Derek Biss in the 62nd minute.
UMass opened the scoring when sophomore Rob Charest (Monson, Mass.) headed his team-leading, sixth-goal of the season past GW keeper Derek Biss in the 62nd minute.
George Washington responded in the 80th minute after Wade Gerhardt forced a UMass turnover at midfield. Gerhardt then set-up Jon Allen who beat a challenging Billman to even the score.
With eight seconds remaining in regulation, a Colonial foul gave the Minutemen a direct kick from 15 yards. Freshman Matty Lemire's (Ipswich, Mass.) kick went wide right and time expired forcing the overtime periods.
Scouting The Flyers
George Nanchoff earned Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors for the week after he tallied a goal and two assists in a win over St. Joe's on Friday night and set-up the game-winning goal on Sunday against Temple.
The Flyers have now won six of their last seven games and are in the top spot in the league. Their last loss was on Oct. 1 to St. Bonaventure (2-0).
Tye Stebbins leads the team offensively with six goals and two assists for 14 points. Nanchoff leads the team with six assists and has notched two goals on the year.
Goalkeeper Matt Troop has a 6-1 record on the season posting a 1.13 goals against average, 27 saves, and a .771 save percentage. He has one shutout on the season.
Scouting The Musketeers
Xavier travels to Rudd Field after playing to a draw against Temple (1-1, 2OT) on Friday night and beating St. Joe's (4-1) in Cincinnati. Over the last six games, Xavier has posted a 2-3-1 record.
Nick Frasher and Toni Skudriznik each have 10 points this season on four goals and two assists this season.
Ty Hemle and Brian Schaeper have split time in the goal this season. Hemle has the lowest goals against average at 1.76, but Schaeper has made 47 saves and posted two shutouts in 10 games played (six starts).
Jim Cummings had a pair of goals in Xavier's win over St. Joe's on Sunday. Skudriznik gave Xavier the early 1-0 lead on Friday against Temple, but could not secure the win as the Owls knotted the game later in the period and both teams played to a draw in the overtime periods.
The Rudd Field Advantage
Since its opening at the start of the 2002 season, Rudd Field has become one of the top home-field advantages in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Minutemen have posted a 15-6-2 mark (.700 winning percentage), including a 7-1-1 mark in 2003. In that span, UMass has outscored its foes 62-32 in the 23 games at home, including 21-5 in 2003. UMass posted five shutouts at Rudd Field in 2003 and have seven since the opening of the complex.
Monthly Success
Koch certainly finds the month of October to his liking. In fact, the Minutemen saw a 22-game October unbeaten streak come to an end when Xavier defeated the Minutemen on October 10. The streak spanned back to Oct. 20, 2000, when Dayton defeated UMass, 3-1. Over the last five years, the Minutemen are 35-7-4 (.811 winning percentage) in the month of October.
The Captains
Koch has named senior Colin Burns and juniors Craig Canavan and Oral Bullen as the captains this season.
Burns is a fifth-year senior that has recovered fully from a serious head injury during his freshman year. He is coming off a solid season as the UMass goalkeeper last season and will be counted on again this season.
Canavan is perhaps the most seasoned Minuteman. He spent five years in the United States Navy before joining the Minutemen last year. He is 28 years old and played for two seasons at New Hampshire before heading to the Navy.
Oral Bullen figures to be UMass' top offensive threat. He is the leading returning scorer with 20 points (8 g, 4 a).
Atlantic 10 Success
Sam Koch has had most of his success come against Atlantic 10 opponents. During his 13 years at UMass, Koch has posted a 79-39-10 record (.659 winning percentage) against Atlantic 10 opposition, and has a winning record against every team but one, Rhode Island. Against out-of-conference foes, Koch is 66-50-10 (.551 winning percentage).
A Look Back At 2003
UMass finished last season with an 11-7-1 record, its fifth straight 10-win season. It marks the longest successive 10-win streak in school history.
Three Minutemen, all seniors, were named to All-Atlantic 10 teams. Ptah Myers was a first-team selection, while Dan Colwell and Devlin Barnes were second-team honorees.
UMass recorded its best start in school history after 10 games at 7-2-1 and reached the program's highest national ranking ever, No. 13, on Oct. 6, 2003.
Young Guns
The Minutemen have one of the youngest rosters in the country. Only two seniors, Gabe Barnard and Colin Burns, dot the roster. All told, there are 17 freshmen and sophomores on the squad.
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