Soccer Hosts Duquesne On Friday At Rudd

Oct. 29, 2009

UMass Closes Out Home Regular Season Schedule Vs. Duquesne & St. Bonaventure
The 2009 UMass regular-season home schedule comes to a close this weekend as the UMass men's soccer team hosts Duquesne on Friday and St. Bonaventure on Sunday. Sunday's match will be Senior Day where the Minutemen will honor Mark DeSantis prior to kick-off.

UMass (5-5-3, 2-3-0 A-10) is coming off a 1-0 loss to Rhode Island last Saturday in a rain soaked match. Duquesne (8-5-2, 3-2-1 A-10) defeated Key Stone Commonwealth rivals Saint Joseph's and Temple last weekend to move into fifth-place in the league standings. St. Bonaventure (7-6-0, 3-2-0 A-10) lost to Temple on Friday before defeating Saint Joseph's on Sunday.

UMass is currently in 10th place in the league standings with six total points. Duquesne has 10 points, while St. Bona has nine. Fordham leads the league with 13 points. Rhode Island will host the Atlantic 10 Tournament where the top six teams of the 14-team league will compete for a NCAA Tournament Automatic Berth.

Nail-biting Finishes
Six games this season have been 1-0 games, while five other games have reached double overtime. UMass is 2-4 in 1-0 games and 0-2-3 in overtime matches. In A-10 play, UMass is 1-3-0 in one goal games and 0-0-2 in overtime matches.

Undefeated With A Goal
Although the cliché says defense wins championships, for UMass, scoring even just one goal will win the Minutemen a game. With one of the top defenses in the country, even just one goal can be made to stand as the game-winner. UMass is 5-0-2 this year when scoring at least one goal. In each of the five losses and one tie, UMass has failed to score.

A Good Start Is Key
The first half has been a key to success for UMass as the Minutemen are outscoring opponents 7-to-3 despite being outshot 63-to-84. Things are a bit closer in the second half with UMass outscoring opponents 4-to-3, while the Minutemen have not scored any goals in overtime.

Set And Score
UMass has used a variety of methods and players when scoring goals this year. Of the 11 goals scored, seven have come off set pieces - either throw-ins, corners, free kicks, etc. Seven different players have scored a goal this season with five of those hitting game-winning goals.

UMass Top D-Unit In A-10
Through 13 games, UMass has shown itself to be one of the top defensive units in the league despite having mostly new faces on the back line and in goal. The Minutemen lead the league in goals allowed (8), goals against average (0.57), and rank second in shutouts (6). Nationally, UMass ranks 7th in team save percentage and 10th (among 203) in goals against average.

Piekos Among Nation's Elite
A big question mark heading into the season was who would replace All-American Zack Simmons in goal. Both Chris Piekos and Shane Curran-Hays have rotated games, with Piekos starting eight games and Curran-Hays getting the nod five times. In those eight games, Piekos has been nearly perfect allowing just four goals in 791 minutes. Nationally, he ranks second among all keepers with a 0.902 save percentage and sixth with a 0.455 goals against average. In the Atlantic 10, he leads the league in GAA, save percentage, and is tied for fourth in shutouts.

Big Shot Ben
Junior midfielder Ben Arikian showed last season that he was an impact player factoring into eight of UMass' 10 game-winning goals. This season, he scored the game-winning goal at Northeastern (9/19) and set-up the game-tying goal at Vermont (9/13) and assisted the game-winning goal at Siena (9/26) and against Saint Joseph's (10/18). Of the 11 goals UMass has scored this season, Arikian has factored into five of them. He currently leads the team in points (7) with two goals and three assists.

DeSantis Leads Offense
Senior forward Mark DeSantis is one of UMass top returning offensive players with 32 career points on 11 goals and 10 assists in 74 games. Last season he started all 21 games scoring four goals and adding two assists. At Vermont (9/13) he scored the game-tying goal in the 40th minute of play off a Ben Arikian free kick, while at Siena (9/26) his goal stood as the game-winner.

Curran-Hays Earns Another Shutout Win
Keeper Shane Curran-Hays earned his second shutout win of the season against Saint Joseph's on Oct. 18 being forced to make three saves. The effort lowered his goals-against-average to 0.77 and improved his record to 2-2-1 this season. Curran-Hays picked up his first career win and first career shutout at Siena (9/26) making eight saves against the Saints.

Versatile Minutemen
With several new faces in the starting line-up, two players in particular have shown their versatility in playing different positions. Stuart Amick and Mark Dangleis have each seen time in the midfield and on defense. Amick, a two-year starter in the midfield, started the bulk of this season on defense - a move similar to the one made by Doug Rappaport in 2007 when UMass made the College Cup. Dangleis, a transfer from Lehigh University, has seen time primarily in the midfield, but adds depth as a solid back.

Fit To Be Tied
For the first time in over two decades, UMass started its season with three ties after a pair of draws at the Smith Barney Classic hosted by Vermont. The last time UMass had three ties to start the season was in 1983 when the Minutemen started 0-1-3 as well.

Preseason Honors For Arikian
Arikian's stock rose another notch heading into the 2009 regular-season as the 2008 Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year was named to the A-10 Preseason All-Conference Team, the CSN Preseason All-America Second Team and the Hermann Trophy Watch List - the top collegiate soccer honor. Arikian led UMass in scoring in 2008 with 15 points (4g, 7a) and factored into eight of the Minutemen's game-winning goals.

Impact Sophomores
Forward Chris Roswess, midfielder Bryant Craft and defender Andrew Henshaw are three sophomores who the Minutemen will look to for big seasons this year. Roswess played in all 21 games last season with 11 starts and two goals - both game-winners. In the exhibition match against Adelphi earlier this year, he scored both goals for the Minutemen in a 2-1 win. Craft is a speedy midfielder and compliments Arikian and Chris Vaccaro. He started 19 of 21 games a year ago with a goal and an assist. Henshaw started 15 of 18 games in the back and is a strong, physical presence at 6-1, 170 pounds.

Players To Watch For
Junior midfielder Matt Hess and sophomore defender David Key have been inserted into the starting rotation after starting a combined two games in 2008. In his career, Hess has been a regular reserve seeing action in 31 games entering 2009. Key played in just three games last season, but was a highly touted defender out of Chaparral High School in Parker, Colo.

New Look Minutemen
UMass has just 13 returning players on the 25 man roster heading into the 2009 season. Of the 12 newcomers, nine are freshmen with three sophomores. Physically, however, this is one of the larger UMass teams with an average height just under 6-feet.

A Keeper Among Them
For the first time in four years, UMass will have a new man between the pipes with the graduation of All-American Zack Simmons. Junior Chris Piekos and redshirt sophomore Shane Curran-Hays are the top returning keepers, while 6-5 freshman Brian Frame out of Delaware looks to be a presence for the future. Curran-Hays has been Simmons' understudy for the last two years and is a technically gifted keeper, while Piekos, a former Special Forces Marine, is a large, athletic, physical presence at 6-1, 220 pounds.

Commonwealth Well Represented
Almost half of the 2009 squad hails from Massachusetts (12) with a heavy mid-west flavor to the balance of the team. The Minutemen feature players from Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

Koch Reaches Yet Another Milestone
Head Coach Sam Koch enters his 19th season at UMass and his 25th season overall as a head coach. Last year, he picked up his 250th career coaching win. This season, he picked up his 200th win at UMass following the 3-0 shutout of Colgate. For his career in Amherst, he is 202-137-36. His overall coaching record now stands at 260-189-51 between his stints at UMass and Stanford.

The `Fort Rudd' Advantage
Few home fields yield such a distinct advantage as Rudd Field, aka FORT RUDD. At home UMass is 44-21-7 since the facility opened in 2002. All told, UMass has pitched 25 shutouts at home and has won nearly 70% of its Atlantic 10 matches in the friendly home confines.

That home field advantage will be key this year as the Minutemen will host the lion's share of their A-10 schedule in Amherst. Five of UMass seven conference matches will be at Rudd Field after just three non-conference matches (the Oct. 3 match against A-10 member Fordham will be a non-conference game).

Leverone Named To UMass Athletics Hall Of Fame
The University of Massachusetts Athletic Department will induct six new members into the George "Trigger" Burke UMass Athletic Hall of Fame, making up the class of 2009: Danielle Henderson `99 (softball 1996-99), Charles Leverone `60 (gymnastics, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, soccer, swimming & diving 1956-60), Bob Marcum (athletic Director 1993-2002), Joe McLaughlin `79 (football 1976-78), Hilary Rose `97 (field hockey 1993-94, 96), Paula Wilkins `94 (women's soccer 1990-93). Leverone lettered in five sports including soccer and won the Lojko Award his senior year (best three-sport athlete at UMass) in 1960.

Streaming Video Live From Rudd Field
The UMass Media Relations Department is proud to announce that the 2009 men's soccer regular-season home games will be streamed live over UMassAthletics.com this year. Along with live video of games, make sure to check out UMass All-Access Multimedia for player profiles, interviews with head coach Sam Koch, and much more. You can sign up for an All-Access Pass by clicking on the Multimedia link at UMassAthletics.com.

Order Photos From The 2009 Season
The UMass Media Relations Department offers fans the chance to purchase photos from the 2009 men's soccer season. Simply go to UMassAthletics.com, find the photo you like in our photo galleries and click the tab that says Buy Now. You can choose from several different size options, custom framing, even an exciting new Gallery Canvas Wrap - all shipped directly to your door. Make sure to capture your favorite memory of the season to proudly display your Maroon & White pride!

Free Soccer E-Newsletter
Fans, want to get all the latest information on the UMass men's soccer team? Sign up today by contacting John Sinnett (jsinnett@admin.umass.edu) in the UMass media relations department. You will receive weekly notes, feature stories, postgame recaps, box scores and more delivered straight to your inbox. It's the best way to keep up with the Minutemen, so sign up today!

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