The Massachusetts men’s soccer team defeated Saint Joseph’s 4-0 on Saturday with the help of various players playing at positions that are unusual to them. UMass (6-2-3, 2-1 Atlantic 10) found scoring from four unique players despite the absence of Alec Hughes, the nation’s leading scorer.
Ivan Vrh, who is officially listed as a defender, earned the start at striker for the Minutemen against the Hawks. The 6-foot-2 sophomore scored his first career goal in the victory over Saint Joseph’s (2-8-1, 0-3 A-10) to go along with his first career assist.
Matt Fordham drove into the space afforded to him roughly 10 minutes into the match before clipping an inch-perfect curling cross into the danger area. Vrh found himself all alone inside the penalty area, where he brought the ball down on his left foot and toe-poked it into the bottom right corner with the opposite foot.
“[Vrh] is a very good center back, and with the injury to Alec we were short another striker,” UMass head coach Fran O’Leary said. “Ivan has come in and done ever so well. He was a handful, he’s got good feet for a big man and he obviously now has proven he can score a goal.”
Vrh collected his first ever assist just seven minutes after his goal. A phenomenal buildup began with the immense dribbling ability of Matt Cence, who danced through two Hawks defenders with the ball. Vrh utilized a spectacular quick turn after receiving a pass inside the box, then nudged it across the face of goal for Andrew Ortiz to smash home.
Ortiz’s left-footed strike marked his third goal in his last two games. The Massachusetts native set a new personal record for goals in a season throughout his four-year career with the Minutemen.
“[Ortiz] has got real quality,” O’Leary said. “He’s a kid from Longmeadow and he’s a very good player. I keep seeing American players that are very good players and [there are] a lot of good players around Massachusetts. He’s done tremendously well, scored two great goals against a very good Vermont team and got a very important goal [Saturday].”
Mike Willis also stepped up in the win while playing an unusual role. He was deployed at left back for the majority of the match as opposed to his usual attacking position on the wing. Willis was relentless down the left flank and played a massive part in UMass’ shutout victory.
“[Willis] can play anywhere for us,” O’Leary said. “Mikey is just Mr. Consistent and settled in well at left back.”
The Minutemen have now been without Hughes for two consecutive games, but they remain creative in their attack. Even center back Aidan Kelly has carved out an attacking role for himself going forward, as his aerial presence remains a threat to opposing defenses. Kelly notched another headed goal at the back post Saturday with no resistance from Saint Joseph’s.
Layton Purchase added his second tally of the season through a long shot. Not even five minutes had ticked off the clock when Purchase laced his right-footed shot from the edge of the box squarely into the top left corner of the net.
While UMass’ offense found ways to score, its sturdy backline did not concede a single goal. The clean sheet is the team’s fifth of the campaign.
The Minutemen currently sit at No. 9 in the NCAA’s RPI system, which ranks all 212 Division I teams based on their results and strength of schedule. Additionally, UMass received four votes in the most recent Top 25 poll, just three votes short of making the list for the first time this season.
The Minutemen will continue conference play with a midweek matchup against Dayton next. The match scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 9 will kickoff at 3 p.m. at Rudd Field.
Cameron Pellegrino can be reached at [email protected].
