Minutemen Draw Wildcats in Saturday Night Stalemate

DURHAM, N.H. -- Massachusetts (4-1-2) battled New Hampshire (0-3-3) to a gritty draw on Saturday night as neither side was able to get past defensive masterclasses by goalkeepers Dean Linden and Scott Williams.

Linden made his first collegiate start for UMass, saving five shots for a clean sheet in his debut. Aidan Kelly caused the most chaos on the offensive end, tallying all three of his shots on goal.

Breaking Down The Action

UMass earned its first corner of the game just two minutes into regulation.
Matt Cence fired the first shot on goal for Massachusetts, forcing Scott Williams to make the save.
The Wildcats tallied their first scoring chance in the 8th minute, as Dean Linden was able to prevent the goal.
Jalen Belong and Arian Recinos traded shots on goal, with both Linden and Williams keeping the game scoreless with athletic stops.
Thomas Wadas earned another corner for the Minutemen in the 31st minute, leading to an Aidan Kelly header on net that was parried by Williams.
Kelly and Gavin Brummer followed up with back-to-back tries on net, but were unable to break the ice for UMass as the halftime horn sounded with the score at 0-0.
Linden continued to build on his strong debut, halting the first shot on goal of the second half by Elias Khodri.
Brummer and Ivan Vrh each launched scoring attempts on goal, with Williams making consecutive saves.
Linden made his fourth and fifth saves of the night, preventing the last two scoring opportunities New Hampshire was able to create on net.
Kelly had a last-second try on goal in the 90th minute, however a save by Williams kept the stalemate as the match reached full-time.

Up Next
The Minutemen wrap up a three-game road stint on Tuesday, Sept. 16 when they travel to Princeton for a night matchup with the Tigers. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with action streaming live on ESPN+.

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Jalen Belong

Gavin Brummer

Matt Cence

Aidan Kelly

Dean Linden

Ivan Vrh

Thomas Wadas

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics