The UMass Boston men’s soccer team played two consecutive away matches Oct. 11 and Oct. 13.
The first match, against Vermont State University Castleton, resulted in a 2-1 victory for the Beacons. The second match, against Swarthmore College, resulted in a 1-0 win.
Against the Vermont State University Castleton Spartans, the Beacons started strong, with sophomore Eduardo Chirico netting his first goal of the game just a few minutes in.
The second goal came in the 24th minute, also from Chirico, assisted by junior Toby Prabhu-Schlosser to continue the Beacons’ lead.
After halftime, the team worked their defense, giving the Spartans almost no chances to score. Freshman goalkeeper Nolan McKenna was at the apex of the Beacons’ defense with four saves in the first half.
The Spartans struck back in the 66th minute as they successfully snuck the ball through McKenna, narrowing the Beacons’ lead to 2-1. That was the only time the opponent saw the back of the Beacons’ net throughout the match.
Their match against Swarthmore College followed a similar pattern as the Beacons started hot on a chilly afternoon. The Garnets kept possession of the ball for the entirety of the first half, giving the Beacons very few touches.
The game saw an outstanding performance from freshman goalkeeper Mario Hajhdi, who made five saves in the first half alone. The Garnets got lucky with scoring opportunities and corner kicks but was unable to act on any of them.
Junior Rafael Gross led the Beacons offensively, taking two shots and successfully netting the first goal of the game in the 42nd minute, assisted by graduate player Quinn O’Hearn.
The second half saw the Beacons locking in as they held onto their 1-0 lead. Roles changed as the Beacons started outscoring their opponents while holding strong on defense.
Following the Oct. 11 and Oct. 13 games, Head Coach Jake Beverlin was one game away from the the men’s soccer program’s career win record held by the late Noel Cotterell, who was coach from 1987-2002. Beverlan beat the record Oct. 18. with his 143rd career win.
