Sept. 16, 2004
AMHERST, Mass. -
Minuteman Soccer Hosts UMass Classic
The Minutemen welcome Siena, Hartford, and Harvard to the 11th edition of the UMass Soccer Classic this weekend. Siena is the only visiting team to have played in the Classic against the Minutemen prior to this season (10/2/88). UMass won that meeting 2-0. The Minutemen are 10-4-2 all-time in the Classic.
Inside The Series
UMass is 9-0-2 all-time against Siena winning the last meeting between the two programs 2-1 last season.
Hartford owns a 10-5-1 record against UMass, but the Minutemen picked up a win against the Hawks earlier this week.
UMass is 3-11-3 against Harvard with the Crimson winning the last meeting 1-0 during the 2000 season.
Charest's Golden Goal Lifts UMass to 2OT Victory
Sophomore Rob Charest's golden goal in the 104th minute gave the UMass men's soccer team its first win of the 2004 season as the Minutemen defeated Hartford 3-2 in double overtime.
Charest scored two goals in the game and had one assist - on Oral Bullen's opening goal of the game - to pace UMass.
The Minutemen took a 2-0 advantage into halftime, but Hartford scored twice in the second half to tie the game. The Hawks first goal came in the 61st minute when Alon Lubezky scored his sixth goal of the season from the top left of the box. Harry Vasiliadis tied the game when he found the net for the Hawks in the 81st minute from five-yards out.
An offsides nullified a goal scored by Hartford's Sean Reynolds in the 83rd minute. The Hawks were denied another chance to score with eight-seconds remaining in overtime when Lubezky's shot from inside the box was saved by UMass defender Tim Kitchell.
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 13-5-2 mark (.700 winning percentage), including a 7-1-1 mark in 2003. In that span, UMass has outscored its foes 54-25 in the 20 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 35-7-3 (.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)and scored two goals in UMass'3-1 exhibition victory over Montreal last Saturday.
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 79-39-8 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 65-48-10 (.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.
.png&type=webp){kind=icon}
