There was a particular theme in the play of the Massachusetts men’s soccer team all season long.
Consistently and almost even predictably, it seemed as though the Minutemen just could never quite get over the hump. Their record doesn’t indicate it, but with the exception of just three games, UMass was in every game it played in.
In its 19 games this season, 14 of them were decided by just one goal or less. More often than not, however, the Minutemen came on the losing end, as they went 4-8-2 in those games.
To add insult to injury, UMass never did itself any favors in those games, especially on the offensive end. The Minutemen were shut out 11 times, scored just nine goals all season and scored more than one goal in a game just once.
Down the stretch especially, the UMass offense was anemic as ever, registering just one goal in its final six games while simultaneously conceding 10 goals to the opposition over that span.
Sunday afternoon’s season-ending loss to Rhode Island was the perfect illustration of the struggles depicted.
After a slow first half, the Minutemen came out firing right away in the second half. Just minutes into the frame, the offense was able to create several chances, causing many scrambles and a lot of havoc in front of the Rams goalkeeper.
Going along with the season’s theme, UMass was able to put together a solid counter attack, move the ball up field with relative ease, but simply could not put the ball in the back of the net.
“We have to figure that out, because we just haven’t been able to score,” said UMass coach Sam Koch. “Today was a great example. How many chances did we have in the second half? Especially at the start of the second half where we had three or four shots in a row and we just couldn’t put them away. And if you can’t put those chances away, it’s going to come back to bite you and it did.”
It’s not as if the Minutemen weren’t capable of finishing this season. They showed flashes of it during the season, beating then-No. 19 Bradley 2-1, with the game-winner coming when Brett Canepa cleaned up a loose ball off of a rebound.
They hung tough with nationally-ranked Charlotte before losing in double overtime, but then came back with strong back-to-back efforts, shutting out Saint Louis and then Fordham, the top-seeded team in the Atlantic 10 tournament.
Simply put, UMass couldn’t fit that last piece of the puzzle on offense consistently, something Koch looks back on with regret.
“I feel bad,” he said. “Did we work enough on our finishing? Obviously not and this week we worked on it every day and all offseason we’re going to work on it every day and hopefully we’ll start putting those away.
“It’s just the way it is,” he added. “Sometimes it hits the post and bounces out, sometimes it hits the post and bounces in. This year, it never bounced in.”
Moving forward
On Sunday, the Minutemen said goodbye to eight seniors and one graduate student as part of Senior Day. Although their contributions will be missed by the remaining Minutemen, UMass will be glad to move past this disappointing season and start preparing for next year.
The Minutemen will return nine players that saw regular playing time this season, including Canepa and Josh Schwartz, who led the team in goals with three and two, respectively.
On defense, senior defender David Key has an extra year of eligibility and will return as a fifth-year senior next season. His leadership will be needed on a team that he’s excited to return to next year.
“After what happened today, I want to come back,” said Key. “I feel like I still have something to prove as a player and I think this program has something to prove. We’re a lot better than our record showed this season.”
Stephen Hewitt can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Hewitt.
