Last year the Massachusetts men’s soccer team had the most successful season in program history, earning a berth in the NCAA College Cup, thanks to its stalwart defense. It took a couple of games to get back in rhythm, but against Siena, the defense looked like a team capable of playing at an elite level. There were questions about how this year’s defense would compare to last season’s. Most of those revolved around the departures of center back Kenny Cook and left back Doug Rappaport, and whether or not the team, as a whole, would maintain such a high level. These questions grew louder after the Minutemen allowed 26 shots and two goals against Boston University last Sunday, during a 3-2 double overtime victory. But against Siena, the defense had a strong bounce-back performance. Utilizing a very aggressive defensive strategy in which the backs would push up very high and midfielders would apply pressure on the ball, the Minutemen limited opposition scoring chances and created plenty of their own. UMass outshot Siena 27-8 overall and seemed to have the ball on Siena’s side of the field throughout the game. UMass coach Sam Koch said he was mostly pleased with his defense. He said he would like to have seen a few less turnovers, but by and large he was pleased with his team’s performance as a whole. “I thought we got caught stabbing for chances a couple times when we didn’t need to, so there are definitely still things we can work on,” said Koch. “Overall I don’t think we gave up too many difficult situations [for our goalkeeper], so I feel pretty good about that.” One of the keys to such a solid defensive effort was the play of the midfield, which includes Amick, Roswess, Ben Arikian and senior leader Mike DeSantis. DeSantis, in particular, frustrated the Siena midfielders all game by being very physical and winning several 50-50 balls. The Saints seemed rattled by how strong and physical the Minutemen were, complaining several times to the referees about supposed fouls. In the backfield, senior Chris Brown showed why he has started 68 consecutive games in his career. He had a fantastic game by not only directing the defense and attacking the ball carriers on the defensive end, but he also scored the game-winning goal off a header in the 88th minute of the game. According to Brown, the key to the defensive effort was maintaining focus, especially when the ball was in opposition territory. “For the defense, the strategy was to stay focused. We knew that we should be able to outshoot them; we knew that the test would be to maintain our focus so they don’t get the breaks. We don’t give up stupid fouls or silly opportunities for them get a lucky one,” Brown said. Scott Feldman can be reached at [email protected].