It is really hard being a freshman on the Massachusetts men’s soccer team. The majority of the talent of this year’s squad lies in the hands of the upperclassmen.
Seniors like Fred Kinateder and J.R. Pouncey are permanent members of the starting backfield and juniors Jeff Deren and Yuri Morales always get the nod from Head Coach Sam Koch to manhandle the offensive attack. UMass has been winning mainly because of the experience and leadership of their upperclassmen.
Yesterday at Totman Field, a freshman named Martin Burrell got his chance to shine and show the UMass faithful that you do not need to be aged to help your team succeed.
In a match that was supposed to be played on Sept. 14 but was postponed due to the Sept. 11 attacks, the Minutemen dueled with an out-of-conference opponent, the Siena Saints, yesterday in Amherst and came out victorious, 3-2. The victory was UMass’ fifth in a row and eighth in its last nine games. The Minutemen’s overall record is now 9-3.
“We are slowly but surely getting better and better as a team,” Koch said. “Each game we are playing a little bit better and improving on what we need to improve on.”
Coach Koch opened the match with his starters against the lowly 4-7 Saints, but in the 28th minute, he sent in a new troop of players to relieve his tired and worn out starting group.
“We got a lot of playing time for the guys who normally don’t see it,” Koch said. “Our starting group needed some rest.”
A bright up-and-coming star, Burrell highlighted the bench play.
In the 34th minute, with the match tied at one, the midfielder from Virginia Beach, Virg. gained control of the ball in front of the Siena net after a scramble and put it through the extended arms of Saint goalkeeper Jonathon Hicks. The goal gave UMass a 2-1 lead going into halftime. From that point on, UMass was in the lead for the rest of the match.
All of Burrell’s teammates jumped on top of him following the goal – celebrating the fact that it was the first goal of his brief collegiate career.
“It feels really great,” said Burrell. “I just have been waiting for it for a long time and now that it has come, it feels really good.”
“He’s good with the ball and he did some really nice things today,” Koch said of his budding star. “He’s not in 100% game shape but when he is, he is going to be a spectacular player and help us out a lot.”
The Minutemen got on the board first when senior defender Shawn Green scored his second goal of the season in 25th minute.
Off of a corner kick on the right side of the Siena zone, the Marshfield native received the ball on the left side of the net and attempted to score on the Saints goalkeeper but was denied by Hicks. He recovered the rebound, gave it another try and placed it to the right of the diving netminder and scored.
Siena countered in the same fashion just five minutes later. On a corner kick in the UMass zone, Saints forward Paul Ciovacco took two chances on Minutemen goalkeeper Bryan O’Quinn and scored. Freshman Brent Plumley bailed out his out-of-position goalie and stopped Ciovacco’s initial shot in front of the UMass net.
After Burrell gave UMass the lead going into the second period, it took the Maroon and White forty-eight minutes to score again.
The consistent Minuteman defense held down the fort in the second half. Co-captain Pouncey played an excellent game in his usual role as sweeper as he deflected many balls from entering the presence of O’Quinn.
“He has always been a solid player,” Koch said.
In the 58th minute, O’Quinn contributed the stifling defense when he made an amazing save on Siena forward Kevin Purcell. A ball that looked to be placed above the reach of O’Quinn was smacked away when he dived to the right and punch the ball out of play – displaying his immense ability.
Finally in 83rd minute, the Minutemen were able to score again – giving them the necessary insurance goal. The culprit was, not surprisingly, the Maroon and White’s leading scorer, Jeff Deren.
Four minutes later after a miscommunication in the UMass box, Siena was able to loft a ball into the net, making the score 3-2.
“We were kind of sloppy giving up those two goals,” Koch said.
Despite showing some inauspicious play, UMass was able to pull out the victory.
“We did enough to win,” Koch said. “Siena is always coming to play at you for 90 minutes and it was a battle today.
“I wish we played better, but I am pleased,” he added.