After traveling over 3,000 miles across the country to lose to two of the most talented teams in the nation, the University of Massachusetts men’s soccer team is back home.
And they’ll be here for a while.
The Minutemen will kick off a five game home stand tomorrow against the Maine Black Bears, with the opening touch scheduled for 1 p.m.
UMass is sure to be pleased with the extended home stand after suffering back-to-back losses to Santa Clara and the University of San Francisco, respectively, in the Diadora Classic. The Minutemen gave up a total of six goals on the weekend, an odd turn of events for a team that prides itself of defense.
One question for UMass will be whether it starts Nick Billman or Colin Burns in the net. Both keepers gave up three goals in their last starts, amidst an onslaught of 37 shots over the two games.
Tyler Pagano was the only goal scorer for the Minutemen with an unassisted turnaround shot against San Francisco. Pagano also had four shots in the game, with two on the net.
The Maroon and White have not had its offense going on full cylinders since last season. Its only explosive performance was a 3-1 route of the University of Montreal. Oral Bullen and Richard Higa will flank with Pagano tomorrow, in hopes of snapping their offensive slump.
Higa was one of the only Minutemen to have any attempts on goal, with two shots on goal against San Francisco, his first start of the season.
Maine (0-1-1,) is coming off mixed results in their recent Black Bear invitational, which included, the Cal Poly Mustangs, Quinnipiac, and Army. Maine suffered a loss to Army and tied Cal Poly scoring only one goal over the two contests. Cal Poly ended up winning the tournament with a 1-0 win over Army.
Adam Chenault was the only member of the Black Bears to score a goal, and was one of two players to be named to the all-tournament team from Maine. Senior midfielder Matthew Bernal, who had two shots in the tournament, was also given the honor.
One of the main weapons that the Black Bears possess is senior forward Justin Stockford, who had a total of three shots in the contests, all on goal. Stockford has been a staple in the Black Bear offense over the past few years and head coach Travers Evans will be looking towards him to pick up and motivate the rest of his offensive unit.
The most impressive performance from Maine came from their keeper, Chad Mungeon. Mungeon, a 6-foot-5 stopper out of Vermont, had 14 saves in his two appearances this year and used his size to preserve Maine’s tie with Cal Poly.
Both Maine and the Minutemen had a stellar off-season of recruiting, both bringing in talent that will get into the action immediately. Neither squad has a large core of senior experience, thus tomorrow will be a good glimpse of what the future holds for both squad.
The Black Bears have brought in a very offensively minded group, headed by Seth Byers, a 6-foot-1 forward out of Cincinnati. Byers had played for the University of Wisconsin last year, but transferred to Maine, with hopes of adding to its offense.
