As the Massachusetts men’s soccer team trudged onto Rudd Field on Wednesday afternoon, most players donned some combination of sweatpants, winter hats and jackets.
With the temperature clocking in at a brisk 52 degrees, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that warmer weather – and soccer season – is coming to an end. UMass (2-10-1, 1-2 Atlantic 10) has just five games remaining on the schedule, all of which are within the conference.
And while the Minutemen struggled out of the gates, the team currently sits in seventh place within the conference, tied with St. Bonaventure at three points apiece.
“We’re in the hunt,” UMass coach Sam Koch said. “More than anything else, we’re concerned about making sure we continue to get better each week, continue to work on the things we haven’t been doing very well and continue to fine tune our set pieces.”
While the standings will fluctuate, Koch knows his team can only turn the focus inward.
“As they say, control the controllables and just make sure you’re doing everything you can to do that and I think we’ll have good results this weekend,” he said.
UMass will travel to Fordham on Friday with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The Minutemen will then turn around and return to Rudd Field where they will host George Washington on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. The quirk in the schedule will make travel plans difficult, but it’s something the team must deal with.
“It’s not easy, just traveling to Fordham is a nightmare,” Koch said while citing difficult traffic issues. “There’s no question it’s not something that we are looking forward to but it is what our schedule is and we have to do it.”
The Rams (3-8-1, 0-2-1 A10) find themselves in a similar position to UMass, very much needing a victory to keep its conference tournament hopes alive. Having to face Fordham on the road presents an even stronger challenge for Koch’s squad.
“Fordham is very disciplined, very well coached, very well organized,” he said. “They’re not going to make any mistakes, we have to beat them. There are times where I think we can get them a little out of sorts and when we do we have to take advantage of that.”
The Colonials (4-6-2, 1-0-2 A-10) present a different type of foe for the Minutemen.
“George Washington is going to be very aggressive, I think it’s going to be a more physical game,” Koch said. “They’re gonna battle. They’ve had a couple of good results the last three games, they’re playing well. They’re ahead of us, they’re a team we need to beat and it’s going to be a dog fight, no question.”
UMass enters the weekend on an offensive upswing, scoring nine goals in its past four games. Standout play from Josh Schwartz and Cody Sitton, coupled with a move to the top of the offensive formation for Matt Keys, is making the difference offensively.
“We’re shooting more which has been the biggest difference,” Koch said. “With Matt Keys up top, each game he gets more comfortable up there and he makes a difference for us.”
Canepa continues rehab
The Minutemen have played the entire season without senior captain Brett Canepa, who is recovering from a torn ACL, which he suffered during the spring season. While the team is holding out hope that Canepa can return, Koch acknowledged the possibility is slim.
“He’s working hard, but I don’t think he’s going to be able to play,” he said. “He continues to work hard and he’s here for the team. It’s tough to be a captain when you can’t play, but he’s done a great job trying to do that.”
If Canepa does not play this season, he would still have a year of NCAA eligibility and be eligible to return for a fifth season. Koch said Canepa has not made a decision on that yet.
Mark Chiarelli can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Mark_Chiarelli.
