The Massachusetts men’s soccer team tied Yale 2-2 in a back-and-forth match that the Minutemen (4-2-3) largely dominated. After scoring just one goal in the last four games, UMass desperately needed an offensive spark, and graduate transfer JP Mbuthia was more than up to the task.
The Minutemen came out of halftime with their foot on the gas, immediately applying pressure on the Bulldogs’ (0-4-2) defenders that had already conceded 13 shots but had yet to concede a goal. Three minutes into the half, Aidan Kelly charged in to cut down a Yale clearance, flicking a header to Alex Brown down the right wing. The senior defender took a touch, then passed right back to the unmarked Kelly just outside of the box. Kelly took his time, dribbling into space and scanning the field, before unleashing a curling left-footed cross towards the 6-yard box.
While the two defenders were setting up UMass’ attack, JP Mbuthia weaved between Yale defenders in the congested penalty area, ducking into blind spots and making himself available for passes. Mbuthia read Kelly’s cross to perfection, timing his run to give himself an uncontested header that he pummeled into the bottom right corner to tie the game at one. The equalizer was Mbuthia’s fourth goal of the season.
“[Mbuthia’s] been great,” head coach Fran O’Leary said. “It’s great to get him back, we’ve missed him for a few games. I think that’s his fourth or fifth goal of the season, so he’s averaging almost a goal a game when he plays. We’re excited to have him back.”
Although his goal-scoring is what jumps off the stat sheet, Mbuthia’s contributions extend beyond finding the back of the net. He routinely is the first to pressure defenders, taking away their time and space and creating offense off their mistakes.
Three minutes after tying the game, the Minutemen withstood an offensive flurry from the Bulldogs. Shane Velez eventually collected the ball inside the area, then floated a clearance towards Mbuthia with Yale’s Diego Zaffanella bearing down on him. Zaffanella made a hard tackle on Mbuthia, knocking him down and poking the ball to a teammate.
Mbuthia sprang up from the ground, made a strong contest on the ball, and won it back to create a quick counter attack. The graduate student dribbled down the right side of the field, then slid a through ball to Matt Cence. The senior dribbled down to the end line before crossing back to Ivan Vrh in the middle. Vrh couldn’t handle the pass, but freshman Thomas Wadas came streaking into the box, bouncing a shot towards Conrad Lee in goal. Lee made a sprawling save to preserve the deadlock and snuff out the rush created by Mbuthia.
“I thought we did a good job of winning the battles,” O’Leary said. “[Yale] is a strong, physical team, you’ve got to give them credit … and we beat them to the ball on many occasions.”
Despite posting its strongest offensive performance in three games and allowing just four shots, UMass was unable to keep Yale off the scoresheet. A penalty kick won on a sloppy challenge inside the box and a cross that bounced past goalkeeper Alex Geczy provided the Bulldogs everything they needed to earn the draw.
The Minutemen will look to ride Mbuthia’s energetic play and carry the scoring momentum into their next game against Delaware on Saturday, Sept. 27. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Newark, Del., and the game can be watched live on the Summit League Network.
James Rust can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @James__Rust.
