It’s been three weeks since the Massachusetts men’s soccer team has played a game at Rudd Field.
In those three weeks, the Minutemen (2-3-2) have gone from a young team on the rise at 2-0-1, to a team with plenty of questions to be answered after dropping three of their last four games, all of which were on the road.
“It’s just being young and inconsistent,” UMass coach Sam Koch said. “It’s frustrating because of that …we have confidence, we’re just very young.”
With three seniors on the roster, the Minutemen are certainly young, but the discrepancy in the team’s play on the road as opposed to at home makes itself quite clear.
One thing Koch has previously stated as a possible reason for this distinction is the unfamiliar field surface.
The four road contests UMass played were on artificial surface as opposed to the grass at Rudd Field, which the team appears to be much more comfortable on despite practicing on the turf at McGuirk Stadium during the road swing.
“When you change surfaces it certainly has an effect,” Koch said in the days following his team’s 1-0 loss at Adelphi Sept. 8, “and it’s different from what we’re used to.”
Fortunately for the Minutemen, it’s back to the grass on Saturday when they put their undefeated home mark on the line against Dartmouth at 1 p.m.
It’s the first of two consecutive home games coming up for UMass, something Koch knows his players are relieved about.
“They like playing at home,” he said.
The Big Green (3-3) are a team whose record may not be indicative of the challenge they could present to the Minutemen. All three of their losses this year have been decided by one goal and two of them came against teams ranked in the top 10 – No. 4 Connecticut Aug. 31 and seventh-ranked New Mexico Sept. 14.
Dartmouth took last year’s meeting in Hanover, N.H., 2-1, in a game where UMass surrendered a pair of goals in the final 25 minutes. The lone tally for the Minutemen came off the foot of Josh Schwartz early in the second half for his first career goal.
Leading the Big Green attack is sophomore forward Alex Adelabu, who was named the Ivy League Player of the Week last week following a three-goal effort in the TL Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Lobo Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., last weekend.
Adelabu is in the midst of a four-game scoring streak with all of his team-high five goals coming in that stretch. The Houston, Texas, native currently leads the team with 11 points despite taking only eight shots so far this season, giving him a whopping .625 shot percentage.
In order to stop guys like Adelabu, UMass will need to make improvements defensively, especially after allowing 25 shots in Wednesday’s 3-1 loss to Siena.
“We allowed (Siena) to get a lot of shots on (goalkeeper Brian Frame),” Koch said. “We’ve got to improve picking up guys at midfield.”
The Minutemen’s ability to put the ball in the back in the net will also need to be effective if it looks to beat junior goalkeeper Noah Cohen.
As a sophomore last season, Cohen’s 1.00 goals against average and 71 saves earned him an Honorable Mention in the All-Ivy League team and led Dartmouth to a conference championship and NCAA tournament appearance.
Cohen has allowed eight goals and made 17 saves through five games, earning him a 1.58 goals against average and a .680 save percentage.
“Dartmouth is a good team,” Koch said. “Our guys will certainly be tested.”
Passing this test should appear within reach as UMass finally gets the chance to step on its home field again, but Koch still sees no reason for his team to feel confident with their performance as of late.
But he knows they’ll be prepared.
“Will they be confident? I don’t think they can be confident after the way they played (Wednesday),” Koch said. “But they’ll be ready when the whistle blows on Saturday.”
Nick Canelas can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Canelas.
