The Massachusetts men’s soccer team picked up a dominant 7-1 victory over UMass Lowell on Wednesday in Amherst. The Minutemen (2-1-2) controlled the game from start to finish against the River Hawks (4-1-2). UMass is now above .500 for the first time this season after dealing UMass Lowell its first loss of 2024.
The River Hawks previously had not conceded more than one goal in any game this season. The seven goals scored by UMass were the most by the team since scoring seven against St. Bonaventure in Oct. 2002. The total was one shy of the all-time record of eight, which has only happened five times before.
“[Scoring] seven goals against a team that’s undefeated after six games is definitely surprising,” head coach Fran O’Leary said. “I think we were just very good. We said before the game we wanted to win the penalty areas, and I feel we won the penalty areas.”
The Minutemen got out to a fast start and never looked back as they poured it on at Rudd Field. UMass opened the scoring in the sixth minute off a corner kick from Matt Cence that was headed home by Aidan Kelly. The goal was just the second of Kelly’s UMass career, who normally shines on the defensive side of the field.
Just 14 minutes into the contest, the Minutemen held a 3-0 lead. As the first half neared its conclusion, Alec Hughes was tripped up in the penalty area as he charged towards the goal. Hughes planted the ensuing penalty kick into the left side of the net, giving UMass a 4-0 advantage.
“We’ve had a quick start the last couple of games,” Coach O’Leary said. “We scored two in the first 10 minutes against Yale, and we scored two today. It obviously gives you confidence and with confidence comes more energy, and that helps with our press and more enthusiasm.”
The match was physical and intense, with 30 total fouls along with six yellow cards, five of which went against the River Hawks. Both teams benefited from a penalty kick during the game. The UMass defense was solid, holding UMass Lowell to just one penalty kick goal.
“We defended our box well,” O’Leary said. “They have talented players, they threatened us at times, and we defended well.”
Despite the lopsided scoreline, the River Hawks outshot the Minutemen 20-19 and forced goalkeeper Alex Geczy to make six saves. The six stops for Geczy marked a career-high in his first season as the starting goalkeeper for UMass.
“[Geczy] pulled off some big, some important saves, as he’s done all season,” O’Leary said. “So he’ll come away feeling good about his performance.”
UMass Lowell did not post a major challenge in the second half, as the Minutemen added three more goals to their growing total to seal the blowout victory. In the 68th minute, Layton Purchase squeezed a headed attempt into the bottom left corner of the net. Purchase, a transfer from Stanford, scored his first goal in a UMass uniform. A goal from Hughes just seconds later put the Minutemen ahead 6-1 and earned Hughes his first hat trick of the season.
UMass will look to keep the momentum going with another home match on Saturday, Sept. 14 against Brown. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Marco Lopez can be reached at [email protected].
