Relief.

That was the word interim Massachusetts men’s soccer coach Devin O’Neill used to describe his team’s first win of the season, a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over Fairfield Friday afternoon in the Minutemen’s home opener at Rudd Field.

UMass played with heavy hearts Friday. It was the Minutemen’s first home game without longtime coach Sam Koch, who died in July after a two-year battle with cancer, in 23 years. And senior Josh Schwartz delivered the knockout blow for the Minutemen, finding the back of the net after being flicked on by junior Luke Pavone. Pavone assisted on both of the Minutemen’s goals.

“It could’ve been anybody and I would’ve been happy,” Schwartz said said after scoring his second goal of the year. “We’ve been working really hard for a couple of weeks now and it’s good to finally get a win.”

O’Neill said his team played well despite a slow start.

“I thought it was a really good performance for most of the game,” he said. “I thought we were a little bit tentative at the beginning, but we kind of grew into it after the first 15-20 minutes.

“I’m really happy for the guys. It’s been five games without a win and they’ve worked really hard. You want them to get rewarded so they get reinforced for the positive things, but they’ve been wonderful in terms of their day-to-day approach and how they’ve practiced.”

It seemed like UMass (1-5) would remain winless after falling behind 1-0 in the 78th minute courtesy of a beautiful free kick by Stags (2-2-1) senior Jake Zuniga. But the Minutemen battled back and were rewarded when senior Matt Keys was moved up top and headed in the tying goal at the 86:38 mark.

O’Neill said it was a great testament to his team’s character.

“For the whole year, that’s how they’ve been. Even when we’ve had some heavy defeats, we’ve literally played to the final whistle,” he said. “There really has been no deviation from that, so we’re really proud of them.”

After the game, Keys used one word to describe his goal, and ultimately his team’s win: finally.

“I’m feeling pretty good, it’s been a long time coming,” he said. “You know, obviously we had the first five poor results, so to swing it back especially at home in front of a really good crowd just feels great, and makes it feel like our hard work is finally paying off.”

Seeing his two seniors rise to the occasion when the team needed a lift was very pleasing for O’Neill, especially when it appeared that they were heading to their sixth consecutive loss.

“They’ve been great. I’m excited for them because of what they put into it, not just this season but their entire careers,” he said. “They’re doing a wonderful job, great leaders every day, leading by example with their voices when they need to bring the guys together.”

Koch honored before game

Before Friday’s contest, Koch was honored with a pregame ceremony and moment of silence.

With emotions running high on such a significant day, Schwartz believed the team was especially motivated to get the win.

“I definitely think we were thinking about the coach, before the game, during the game, and after the game,” he said. “First game in 23 years without him on the bench so we were definitely playing with a little extra emotion today.”

Jason Kates can be reached at [email protected].