The UMass Boston men’s soccer team took over their home field for two consecutive matchups, winning them both and outscoring opponents 10-0.
The first was against the Keene State Owls Saturday, Oct. 12, where they registered a 5-0 win.
The Beacons opened the game with a goal in the first seven minutes from sophomore midfielder Patrick Garcia, which marked his second goal of the season. Then, approximately 17 minutes into the game, freshman forward Eduardo Chirico played out the ball wide and found senior defender Diego Gisholt, whose pass was received by sophomore forward Rafael Gross. Gross managed to net the second goal of the game and his second goal of the season, bringing the Beacons to a 2-0 lead.
The rest of the match, there was one goal each by Chirico, graduate defender Max Mian and senior forward Logan Erickson-Potter, which were all functional in securing the team’s 5-0 win. Graduate goalkeeper Andy Ramirez guarded the post for the whole match, earning a shutout.
Assistant Coach Marcelo Cunha commented after the match, “We are in a good spot. We are doing very well in the conference playoffs, so we are in a good spot. It’s better to tie matches than lose them.”
Cunha added that he “sees the team winning this year’s Little East Conference Championship.”
Sophomore midfielder Kostandinos Papajani shared his thoughts after getting off the field: “The match was pretty intense, getting a goal in the first 10 minutes. We are a bunch of talented people. I mean, we just focused on our past week of training and let the ball do the talking.”
“No team is easy, whoever we play, we give our hundred percent. I feel happy — it’s a good win,” he added.
Freshman Parker Hamilton echoed this, claiming “this was the statement win the team needed.”
This win against the Owls gave the Beacons a much-needed confidence boost. It seems the team took this newfound confidence and winning outlook into their next LEC matchup against the Southern Maine Huskies Wednesday, Oct. 16.
It was UMass Boston’s second consecutive 5-0 win. The Beacons scored the opener in the early minutes of the first half; it was a flawless pass from Erickson-Potter accompanied by a Gross goal, giving the Beacons the early 1-0 lead. Just six minutes after the first goal, Gross netted another — his second of the day — assisted by Chirico, making it 2-0.
The Huskies’ desperate and unanswered calls to score were met by a third Beacon goal just over 45 minutes in — a special moment for the team, as it was graduate midfielder Nathaniel Wong’s first-ever collegiate goal.
Wong said, “It feels great. I didn’t know what to do after I scored. But I always told the team I would run to the benches when I scored. It was a pretty easy game to play in. I think the last competitive goal I scored was when I was 16 years old, so it has been seven years in the making.”
The fourth goal came in the 69th minute from Garcia. This goal was followed by what could be the best of the year so far: freshman midfielder Amir Lahkiky delicately touched the ball with the opponent on his tail, almost lost his balance and shot the ball, which curled over just under the crossbar and perfectly into the left side of the net.
The Beacons have really picked up their pace as of late; these consecutive wins gave them the edge they so desperately need heading into the playoffs soon.
This article appeared in print on Page 7 of Vol. LVIII Issue V, published Oct. 21, 2024.
