Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

UMass men’s soccer remains winless after 1-0 loss to Cal Poly on Sunday

Cody Sitton kicks the ball against George Washington on October 27, 2013 (Nicole Evangelista/Daily Collegian)
Cody Sitton kicks the ball against George Washington on October 27, 2013 (Nicole Evangelista/Daily Collegian)

The Massachusetts men’s soccer team will return from their four-game west coast trip to start the season winless after falling 1-0 to Cal Poly on Sunday.

The game was decided in the 39th minute when sophomore forward John Chronopoulos was taken down inside UMass’ 18-yard box by junior Danny Belza. On the ensuing penalty kick, Chronopoulos placed his kick to the far right corner as freshman goalkeeper Ryan Buckingham guessed wrong and dove left to give the Mustangs the upholding lead.

The Minutemen’s bench was visibly upset with the referees’ decision to reward the penalty kick. However, following the game, UMass coach Devin O’Neill said that the team must look past the questionable call.

“Ultimately, the refs have to ref and we have to coach, so I’ll leave it at that,” O’Neill said. “We could have done better to prevent the situation, so I think it would be misguided of us to place it on the referee.”

Although Sunday’s game ended in losing fashion, O’Neill said that his team showed significant improvement on defense. After losing its first three games by a combined 11-2 margin, he said that only conceding one goal and four shots on goal for the game was encouraging.

“There was definitely a difference between today and the first few games,” senior defender Matt Keys said. “We’re starting to develop a little bit more chemistry and it’s just a good sign going forward.”

Despite getting shut out on the offensive side for the second straight game on Sunday, O’Neill also said that he saw positive signs from the team’s attack, which registered six shots on goal led by junior midfielder Peter Alvarenga.

“I thought our speed of play in transition was better and we were able to connect on a couple of passes early on, on the weak side,” O’Neill said. “[Alvarenga] did a great job out front holding the ball for us and that helped us get out and get into the attack on a more consistent basis.”

Keys said that there is still work to be done in order to get UMass (0-4-0) over its losing streak despite the recent improvements. Keys noted the need to limit turnovers and increase the time of possession on attack.

Déjà vu?

The 2014 regular season has started off in a similar fashion for the Minutemen, who began last year 0-8-1 before picking up their first win on Sept. 28 against Siena.

However, despite the four-game losing streak to begin this season, O’Neill said that there are no parallels between the past two opening struggles.

“We are far more competitive, the team is upbeat, and I think that they, themselves, can see their progress,” O’Neill said.

Keys agreed and said that the Minutemen have maintained a more uplifting attitude through their initial struggles in nonconference play.

“Last year, at times, we were down on ourselves,” Keys said. “I think this year we are a little more positive.”

Keys added that last year’s winless run, which was followed by an eighth place finish in the Atlantic 10 – good enough to make the A-10 tournament – has helped the team’s present mindset.

“We have the confidence that we can come back, even though we’ve started 0-4, we can still play great in conference games and still make the playoffs,” Keys said. “I think we understand that this is kind of like an extended preseason for us to get us ready for the A-10 games that really matter.”

Anthony Chiusano can be reached at [email protected] and can be followed on Twitter @a_chiusano24.

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