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University of Massachusets Athletics
Men's Soccer Opens Home Schedule Vs. Maine On Saturday
September 10, 2004 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 10, 2004
Maine (0-1-1) at UMass (0-2-0)
Saturday, Sept. 11, 2004
Rudd Field, Amherst, Mass.
Welcome Home UMass!
• The UMass men's soccer team finally returns to the friendly confines of Rudd Field for the 2004 home opener this Saturday at 1 p.m. The Minutemen host the Maine Black Bears in a regional match-up.
• UMass is back home after spending last weekend at the diadora Classic hosted at the University of San Francisco. The Minutemen dropped a pair of games to top programs losing to No. 5 Santa Clara, 3-0, on Sept. 2 and the host San Francisco, 3-1, on Sept. 4.
• Maine enters the weekend with a 0-1-1 record, losing to Army, 2-0, in their season opener in Orono on Sept. 3 before tying Cal Poly, 1-1 last Sunday.
Stout At Rudd Field
• 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 12-3-2 mark (.765 winning percentage), including a 7-1-1 mark in 2003. In that span, UMass has outscored its foes 49-17 in the 17 games at home, including 21-5 in 2003. UMass posted five shutouts at Rudd Field in 2003 and have seven in the two seasons at the complex.
A Look Back At Cali Trip
USF 3, UMass 1 Freshman Tyler Pagano (Mundelein, Ill.) scored the first goal of his college career, but it wasn't enough as UMass lost to San Francisco, 3-1, in the final game of the diadora Classic.
USF opened the scoring as Jordan Keyes knocked in a rebound off a shot by Chris Schwarze just 17 minutes into the game. The Dons made it 2-0, just one minute into the second half as Al Bedrossian scored off assists from Adam Bergman and Mike Varas. Pagano netted the UMass goal to cut the lead to 2-1 at the 71:44 mark as he scored on a turnaround shot to the far side of the net. USF quickly answered as Aaron Chandler scored less than two minutes later for the 3-1 final.
In goal, Colin Burns (Newark, Del.) made six saves for UMass. USF outshot UMass, 22-11 while taking eight corners to the Minutemen's five.
Santa Clara 3, UMass 0 Sophomore Nick Billman (St.Louis, Mo.) made seven saves, but the fifth-ranked Santa Clara men's soccer team used three goals in the game's first 16:40 to hand the University of Massachusetts a 3-0 loss this evening in the first round of the diadora Classic played on the campus of the University of San Francisco.
The Broncos wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard as Peter Lowry took a pass from Medhi Ballouchy seven yards out and beat Billman to the left side just 2:59 into the game. Less than three minutes later, Ballouchy gave Santa Clara a 2-0 advantage when he scored on a free kick from eight yards out. At the 16:40 mark, Will Weatherly picked up a loose ball five yards out and fed Keith DeVey who scored the final goal of the game.
Massachusetts was out-shot in the game, 15-5, and Santa Clara held the edge in corner kicks, 4-2. Junior Oral Bullen (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the Minutemen with two shots. Sophomore Robby Charest (Monson, Mass.), junior Ernie Billittier (Mundelein, Ill.) and sophomore Ralph Pace (Boston, Va.) each tallied one shot on goal.
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.
A-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 79-39-8 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 64-45 10 (.580 winning percentage).
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.
Getting Defensive
• The Minutemen appear to be heading towards a defensive style of play, as evidenced by their six shutouts in eight games in the spring season. In addition, UMass blanked No. 9 Notre Dame in a 0-0 tie in the preseason this August.
• Since the start of the 2001 season, UMass has held 36 of its 63 opponents to one or fewer goals, posting a 30-3-3 mark in those games.
• It has allowed a team to score four or more goals only three times in that same timeframe..
Streaking
• Sam Koch's clubs have found a way to string together victories in his 13 years at UMass. His squads have won at least five games in a row in five of his 13 seasons, including three in a row, and at least four in a row in nine of the 13 seasons. The 7-2-1 record enjoyed at the start of last year was the best 10-game start in school history, equaling the 7-2-1 start the 1997 team accomplished.
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)and scored two goals in UMass'3-1 exhibition victory over Montreal in August.
In the Polls
• Prior to Sam Koch's arrival in Amherst in 1991, the Minutemen had spent a grand total of zero weeks in any national poll. UMass has been ranked in the nation's top 25 each of the last three years, including a program-high No. 13 on Oct. 6, 2003. UMass finished the 2001 season ranked No. 24 in the NSCAA/ adidas national poll, and reached as high as No. 22 in the Collegesoccernews.com poll in 2002.