P.J. Stanley/Collegian

The Massachusetts men’s soccer team proved once again that it works best under pressure in the 1-0 win against Siena (1-2) on Saturday.

Redshirt senior and defensive anchor Chris Brown headed in the game-winning goal with 1 minute, 8 seconds left on the clock. The goal came after sophomore Ben Arikian took a direct kick from the midfield after a foul was called on Siena. Brown was near the goal line as Arikian’s shot went towards the left post and Brown jumped up to head it in.

“It’s frustrating. You have good opportunities, but not putting one away. It’s just being in the right place at the right time, late in the game trying to force some things. We got a little lucky,” Brown said.

This was the second game that the No. 13 Minutemen (2-1) scored a goal when it counted most. On Aug. 31, senior Prince Ofosu scored a game-tying goal with 3 seconds left to send it into overtime against Boston University. UMass won, 3-2, in the second overtime.

“We made it a lot more difficult than it had to be,” UMass coach Sam Koch said. “The bottom line is Brownie came up big at the end to get the goal.”

The Saints started the game dominating play in the middle of the field, but as time progressed the Minutemen took control and used outside channels to move the ball around. Using the sides of the field was something Koch said he stressed in the game because Siena is known for playing strong in the middle.

“As a whole we created a lot of chances. We certainly moved the ball; we just didn’t finish our chances,” Koch said. “We took the extra touch at times that made it more difficult than it needed to be.”

The Minutemen had numerous chances at a goal, especially in the 72nd minute. Junior Mark DeSantis took one of multiple consecutive corner kicks to junior Bryan Hogan, who headed the ball toward an opening in the top left corner. His attempt beat Siena net minder Steve Skonieczny but deflected off the crossbar. Brown sent the ball back toward the goal, but it was blocked by Skonieczny. Arikian took a shot after the block that went wide to the right.

“If you look at the number of shots we had and the opportunities we should have gotten the result, but this game could have gone either way, fortunate it didn’t go the other way,” Koch said.

UMass outshot Siena, 27-8, but struggled on finishing the shots because Siena’s defense was strong in front of the net and didn’t allow the Minutemen to take high quality shots.

“[The Saints defense] did a pretty good job staying compact as a group and we took bad shots. We took a lot of shots that were out of our range and we know better,” Koch said. “I give [Siena] credit for holding strong in the back; it made it difficult for us.”

The Minutemen’s defense played strong, allowing three shots on goal.

The Saints had two close chances at a goal, but redshirt senior goalkeeper Zack Simmons made a diving save. Only moments later the Saints took another shot and Simmons jumped to save it as it hit the crossbar.

“[Simmons] didn’t get a lot of chances, but he came up big when he had to and the cross bar certainly did its job,” Koch said.

The Minutemen will play again this weekend in the Old Dominion STIHL Classic.

Melissa Turtinen can be reached at [email protected].