A weekend of firsts didn’t quite go as planned for the Massachusetts men’s soccer team.
Hitting the road for the first time this season on Saturday, the Minutemen suffered their first loss of the season, falling to Adelphi, 1-0, in double overtime. It was the second consecutive double overtime game for the Minutemen after tying Harvard, 1-1, in their last matchup.
The game was ultimately decided in the 108th minute, when Panthers (1-4) forward James Diana headed home the eventual game-winning goal past UMass (2-1-1) goalie Brian Frame, giving the Panthers their first win of the season.
The Minutemen had the first good scoring opportunity early in the game, when Connor DeVivo found himself in all alone with the Panther goalie, but was stopped by Ahmad Salamah, keeping the game scoreless.
The two sides played to an even first half but at the start of the second half, it was UMass that found itself with the next big scoring opportunity. After an Adelphi yellow card just outside of the 18-yard box, UMass sophomore defenseman Matt Keys ripped a free kick attempt just wide of the left post, keeping the game scoreless.
UMass sustained a late scare, when, in the 77th minute, Adelphi forward Adam Weinzimer picked up a loose ball inside the box and rifled a shot from close range, but Frame was there to stop it, keeping the game tied at 0-0 and the Minutemen’s hopes alive.
That was the last scoring opportunity that either side would have in regulation time as the game was sent to overtime.
After playing the first 15 minutes of overtime to a scoreless draw, the game entered the second overtime period still tied 0-0.
In the 108th minute, it was the Panthers who managed to end the scoreless battle when Steve Rivera delivered a cross in from the right corner and connected with Diana, who headed the ball past Frame and into the back of the net to give Adelphi a 1-0 victory.
Despite not scoring a goal, UMass outshot the Panthers, 14-12, but didn’t record a shot in the second overtime, while Adelphi increased the tempo and registered four shots.
The loss is the Minutemen’s first of the season in four contests, a big improvement from last year’s squad that dropped 13 of 19 contests, including eight of its first nine matches.
Prior to Saturday’s defeat, UMass started the season 2-0-1 and entered the game against Adelphi ranked eighth in the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Region poll, with two 1-0 wins over Delaware and Vermont and a 1-1 draw with Harvard on its resume. Saturday’s loss was also the first time this season that the Minutemen were shutout, a feat that occurred 11 times last season.
The game saw both teams play very physical, with 26 fouls issued during the game, five yellow cards being handed out and two players sent off with red cards, including DeVivo.
In net, Frame stopped four of the five shots that were on target, while Salamah stopped all four shots that were on target. Offensively, DeVivo, Nigel Negm and Josh Schwartz led the Minutemen in shots, each tallying three on the day.
After starting the season with three straight home games, UMass will head to Hartford to take on the Hawks in its second game of its current season-long four-game road trip.
The game is scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Yousuf Al-Marzook Field. Hartford enters the matchup with a record of 3-3, but it has won three of its last four games.
Patrick Strohecker can be reached at [email protected] or followed on Twitter at MDC_Strohecker.
