For the seniors on the Massachusetts men’s soccer team, Saturday’s match against Rhode Island marks their final game of their collegiate careers and offers one last chance to sprint around Rudd Field.
Despite their absence next season, their impression on the program will not disappear once the clock runs out.
“I think more than anything … they’re a good group of guys,” said UMass coach Sam Koch. “They’ve been fun to be with at practice [and] they’ve been fun to be on the road with.”
Koch, the rest of the Minutemen and their families will pay tribute to seniors Bryant Craft, Chris Stoker, Chris Roswess, Michael Doherty, Chris Gilbert, Andrew Henshaw and Shane Curran-Hays prior to game time for their contributions to the program.
Despite its disappointing 4-12-2 record, Koch is proud of how the class of 2012 finished in spite of the additional difficulties that the team faces.
“We are by far the lowest funded program in the Atlantic 10 and they’ve competed with every team we’ve played against,” said Koch.
In addition, the team wakes up routinely for 6 a.m. practices and trains outdoors year-round, sometimes on a frostbitten field, Koch explained. He later went on to add that he has “a tremendous amount of respect for them [for making] it through.”
UMass has fought hard in almost every game this season, with seven of its 12 losses coming by a one-goal margin. Even matches against No. 11 Charlotte and No. 22 Central Florida were no tall task for the Minutemen. UMass had the 49ers on the ropes, scoring first and carrying a lead into the second half before falling in overtime, while the Knights capitalized on their only two scoring opportunities to fend off the Minutemen, 2-0.
“We’re sort of behind the eight-ball when we start and yet these guys have really done a good job in that regard and we’ve competed…with every team we’ve played against even though some of the scores haven’t shown it,” said Koch.
All eight seniors will start the match but Koch said he would not hesitate to take one out if they were not executing the game plan effectively. Although it’s their last game, Koch admits that he’s still playing to win the game and build towards next season.
One senior who may not be able to play is Roswess, who suffered a bad bruise on the back of his left leg in Saturday’s loss to Richmond. According to Koch, his status for the match is uncertain, however he admitted that the West Springfield native wants to play.
David Key is a senior, but will be returning for another season, according to Koch, which will help next year’s team in many ways.
“He’s really been…our most valuable player and he will bring back great leadership for this team that’s coming back,” said Koch.
Although he believes in honoring the seniors, Koch feels the ceremony takes away from the concentration of the game at hand.
“I would much rather do it off the field at a dinner and talk about them then [rather] then take 20 minutes of the pregame away from getting ready from the game,” he said.
Even with 12 losses and being eliminated from playoff contention, Koch believes that the team learned a valuable life lesson, which helped them turn the page after their early season woes and put their best foot forward during A-10 play.
“Sometimes things don’t go the way they planned and if they don’t go the way they planned, what do you do about it?” said Koch. “Do you sit around and pout about it or do you get up and try to change it? And I think at some points during the season, we pouted but I think at the end, they’ve gotten off their backsides and they’ve gotten back to work to change it.”
The seniors not only matured as soccer players, but also grew as men as they prepare for the challenges that lie before them after graduation.
“I can’t promise you that they’re going to run the real world wild with great success but I think they’re better prepared for it than they’ve been,” said Koch.
The game is set to start at 1 p.m. with the ceremony starting immediately before the contest.
Stephen Sellner can be reached at [email protected] or followed on Twitter @MDC_Sellner.
