This weekend Massachusetts enjoyed its annual homecoming. Mid-night madness on Friday night, a Saturday afternoon football game and the hockey season opener that night were some of the staples of the joyous weekend.
Hundreds of miles away in New York and Pittsburgh, far from the festivities and the attention of the student body and alumni, the UMass men’s soccer team had its own personal joy as it swept a two-game road trip versus Atlantic 10 foes St. Bonaventure and Duquesne.
Friday, the Minutemen pulled off a late-game comeback and ground out a 3-2 victory over the Bonnies in St. Bonaventure. Two days later in Pittsburgh, the Maroon and White defeated the Dukes, 2-1.
Against SBU, juniors Jeff Deren and Dan Colwell scored 45 seconds apart from each other in the 77th minute, en route to the Minutemen’s third victory in a row.
The score was tied at one for most of the match until St. Bonaventure’s Jamal Cameron fired a shot past UMass goalkeeper Bryan O’Quinn in the 75th minute – giving his squad a 2-1 lead late in the match.
Two minutes later, UMass forward Colwell tied the score once again by drifting away from the Bonnie defense, braking free on the left side and putting one past the SBU goalkeeper – making the score 2-2.
The offensive hero all season long for Massachusetts has been Deren, and he came up with the game winner once again for the Maroon and White. Forty-five seconds after Colwell’s goal, Deren headed a ball into the far-left corner after a scramble in front of the SBU goal.
Suddenly, UMass had regained the lead after it looked like it had lost all control of the match.
“We have shown a lot of heart this season,” Deren said. “We have a young team but the seniors have really helped us out. We are a mature team that knows if we stick with the game plan we can get the job done.”
After pulling out the come-from-behind victory over the Bonnies, the Minutemen had to re-focus on Sunday for another tough opponent, the Duquesne Dukes.
UMass got on the scoreboard first as the blistering hot Deren netted his eighth goal of the season in the 18th minute of the match.
“I have been doing the same thing all season long,” Deren said of his recent play. “I do what I am supposed to do. It’s nothing out of the ordinary.”
The stifling defense of UMass was able to keep the Dukes from scoring in the first half. However, just eight seconds into the second period, Duquesne forward Brian McNelis scored on O’Quinn – knotting the score at one.
“Our defense has been amazing,” Deren said. “We feel that if we get even a one-goal lead we have a chance to win because our defense has been so solid.”
UMass did not let the DU goal worry it, as five minutes later, sophomore forward Ptah Myers scored the early game-winner – making the score 2-1. It was Myers’ fourth goal of the season.
Junior Yuri Morales assisted on Myers’ game-winning goal. The helper moved him to seventh all-time on the UMass single-season assist record chart with eight this season.
The victory over Duquesne gave UMass its fourth win in a row. It was also the squad’s seventh win in eight games – improving its overall record to 8-3 and conference record to 4-1.
UMass now stands tied for second with the Rhode Island Rams in the Atlantic 10 standings with 12 points.
“For every year that I have been on the team we always start out like 1-3, and then turn it around,” Deren said. “When it comes time to play against our conference opponents, we start racking up the important victories.”
The Minutemen take a brief break from their A-10 schedule today when they face off with Siena at 3 p.m. on Totman Field.