The first half offensive dominance by the Massachusetts men’s soccer team was key in its 4-0 win over Sacred Heart (0-2-0) on Monday afternoon.
The scoring started early as UMass (1-0-1) scored its first goal of the day courtesy of senior midfielder Evan Fournier, who dropped in a beautiful long-range free kick. The goal came in the seventh minute to give the Minutemen its first lead of the day.
“It feels amazing, I don’t think there’s a better start,” Fournier said. “I was a little bit shocked to be honest, when the ball went in the net so it feels great and I feel it really sets the tone for us. It felt really good to score and get the team motivated to keep going.”
Fournier would finish with two of UMass’ four goals on the day, both coming off free kicks.
The Minutemen were dominate on the offensive end in the first half on Monday, scoring all four of its goals in the half. UMass came out with energy and attacked relentlessly, putting up 11 shots and seven shots on goal in the first half. The four goals scored by the Minutemen was the first-time scoring that many in a game since March 20, 2021, against Rhode Island when they scored five.
“I think the guys were on the front foot from the start,” head coach Fran O’Leary said. “We picked them off several times, we looked dominant off set pieces, we got runners in and about the box. Our guys were able to come first on a few occasions so big credit to our guys.”
The energy and aggressiveness displayed by the Minutemen in the opening minutes of the game would set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. Scoring two goals within the first 16 minutes of the match put UMass in complete control and took the pressure off the offense.
“Anytime you score settles down any nerves you might have and gives you a boost of energy,” O’Leary said. I think if you score first in college in a game you stand a very strong chance of getting something very positive from the game. So to get a couple goals early set us up for the result we got today.”
With UMass losing quality players last year, one of the players helping to fortify the Minutemen’s offense this year has been junior midfielder Nick Zielonka. Zielonka has now scored a goal in two consecutive games.
Zielonka’s goal against Sacred Heart came in the 23rd minute after a shot by Alec Hughes went wide and Zielonka was there to get the rebound from the right side of the net, pushing it to 3-0 early.
“Such a great feeling, I saw it rolling a bit wide so I just slid in with everything and it was just a moment of relief and happiness,” Zielonka said.
Zielonka is in his third year with the Minutemen and only scored one goal in his first two seasons at UMass. Now, however, with his new opportunity, Zielonka has tripled his career total just two games into the young season.
“Hard work and really listening to what coach is saying. Knowing where to be and staying switched on in all the moments,” Zielonka said about his success so far this season.
Freshman forward Sefunmi Taiwo was another young player who got his chance on the offensive end, scoring his first career goal in the 34th minute. The assist on the goal came from sophomore midfielder Shizu Yohena, who recorded his first career assist.
The Minutemen will look to keep their momentum going heading into their next game on Saturday against Boston College, kick off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Marco Lopez can be reached at [email protected].
