The Massachusetts men’s soccer team stayed hot with a 4-0 win against Saint Joseph’s.
Ivan Vrh recorded both the first goal and assist of his career in the victory. The defender stepped into an attacking role in the absence of injured forward Alec Hughes.
The first half of play was dominated by UMass (6-2-3, 2-1 A-10). Within the first five minutes, midfielder Layton Purchase received a pass over the top from Johan Feilscher and found the back of the net to tally his second goal of the season.
“I thought we beat Saint Joseph’s (2-8-1, 0-3 A-10) sometimes to the ball [Saturday],” UMass head coach Fran O’Leary said. “They’re a well-coached team. To score a goal, you need the ball, so you’ve got to win the ball and then be able to pass it and finish, and we did that well today.”
Just five minutes later, Vrh converted a tough shot through contact following a curled cross by Matt Fordham. UMass jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead within the first 10 minutes of action.
After eight minutes of scrappy play from both sides, the Minutemen refound their rhythm by playing efficient one-touch passes all around the midfield. Vrh later picked out Andrew Ortiz inside the penalty area for the third goal of the match.
UMass continued its aggressive play throughout the match, as Purchase and Fordham launched multiple shots that were ultimately saved by Hawks goalkeeper Lars Haavie. Soon after, forward Mike Willis attempted a half-volley, which hit off the post and led to a goal kick.
The latter end of the first half was filled with stoppages of play and contested duels. UMass entered the halftime break with a lot of momentum.
“We have to physically compete and outwork opponents because some of them have gifted technical players,” O’Leary said. “We have to work hard, it’s sort of a non-negotiable here and the guys do it, all of the credit to the guys, they enjoy competing.”
The start of the second half was a similar story to the first, with the Minutemen playing aggressively and keeping possession of the ball.
Fordham’s passing skills were on display in the match, as the central defender sent a precise through ball to Feilscher, who had an open look at goal but failed to score. UMass then won a corner kick, which led to a headed goal from Aidan Kelly, good for his second of the season.
With the Minutemen holding a 4-0 lead, the Hawks were desperately searching for an answer. Saint Joseph’s found themselves in a breakaway situation, but before it could get a shot off, the UMass defense recovered and put out the fire. On the ensuing corner kick, the Hawks found a gap in the UMass defense, which allowed Bart Kooistra to take on a powerful shot that barely missed the target.
With 12 minutes left in the game, Mike Willis fired a shot from about 10 feet outside of the penalty box, which flew slightly over the crossbar.
The Minutemen finished the game with a clean sheet and plenty of goals to go around, marking their sixth win in the last eight matches. UMass also outshot Saint Joseph’s 21-8 and recorded seven more corner kicks than the Hawks.
“I think it’s just winning the battles for control of possessions; to score a goal you have to have the ball, so I thought we had a lot of contests,” O’Leary said.
UMass will battle the Dayton Flyers in its next matchup at Rudd Field. Kickoff on Wednesday, Oct. 9 is set for 3 p.m.
Adam Kysiak can be reached at [email protected].
