After an up-and down-season, the Massachusetts men’s soccer team came so close to achieving an Atlantic 10 tournament berth.
Whether or not the Minutemen would be competing in the playoffs came down to the final weekend of games, when UMass traveled to play conference-leading Charlotte on Nov. 5 and playoff-contending Saint Louis on Nov. 7.
The 49ers severely outplayed the Minutemen by outshooting them, 23-4, and scoring two second-half goals which were enough for a 2-0 shutout victory. The loss put UMass in seventh place in the A-10 – one spot shy of a playoff bid.
Two days later, the Minutemen controlled their own destiny. They were one point out of the playoffs and a win against Saint Louis would secure them a spot.
The playoffs were looking like a reality for UMass when Bryant Craft scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season in the second half. Five minutes later, captain Ben Arikian scored, giving UMass a 2-0 lead with 23 minutes left in regulation.
Unfortunately, as soon as the Minutemen got their goals, they gave them right back. In the 73rd minute, Saint Louis’ Alex Johnston scored. Six minutes later, his teammate Sito Sasieta scored, knotting the game at two.
The game ultimately ended in a draw and UMass found itself in a three-way tie for the final spot in the playoffs with Xavier and Fordham.
With all three teams holding a 1-1 record against each other, the tie-breaking procedure then motioned to look at each team’s record against common opponents (La Salle, Dayton and Rhode Island). Xavier had six points against those teams, while UMass had five and Fordham three giving the Musketeers the final slot.
In surprising fashion, it was Xavier (10-6-4, 5-4-0 A-10) that went on to become the Atlantic 10 champions, as the Musketeers went on an improbable run by completing three upsets, their last coming against the No. 2 seed La Salle.
The tie-breaker was a fitting end to UMass’ season, which was filled with ties from the very beginning. The Minutemen’s eight ties were by far the most in the conference, besting the Bilikens, the Flyers, Duquesne and the Explorers who all had three.
UMass (5-5-8, 4-2-3 A-10) will lose four important seniors to graduation including midfielders Stuart Amick, Ben Arikian and Chris Vaccaro, as well as goalkeeper Chris Piekos. Amick and Arikian will surely be missed in the midfield, as they’ve been starting together for the majority of games dating back to their sophomore seasons in 2008.
Amick played in 79 career matches with nine goals and five assists for 23 points. Arikian, one of UMass’ all-time premier players, played in 82 matches with 11 career goals and 23 assists for 45 points. His 23 assists rank him fourth all-time in program history. Vaccaro played in 79 matches with one goal and four assists. Piekos, after walking on to the team in 2008, played three seasons, posting a career .81 goals against average, an .848 save percentage and a 8-7-10 overall record with nine shutouts.
On Nov. 10, Arikian was named to the All-Conference Second Team, while Tyler Cleverdon earned an All-Conference Rookie Team selection. Cleverdon, a freshman defensive midfielder, started 16 games this season, registering a two goals and an assist while helping the Minutemen post five shutouts.
Junior Bryant Craft led the team with seven goals and two assists for 16 points. The seven goals ranked him fifth in the conference, while his 16 points ranked him sixth. There is little doubt that Craft will be looked at to garner much of the offensive load next season.
The highlight of the season came at the onset of conference play, which UMass would begin 4-0-1. During that stretch, the Minutemen continued its inspiring road play by defeating Rhode Island, Temple and Saint Joseph’s in consecutive 1-0 decisions away from Rudd Field. Unfortunately, UMass’ 0-2-2 end to conference play ultimately ended its season earlier than expected.
Steve Levine can be reached at [email protected].
