College Soccer Notebook: Season Opener Superiors
UVM, UCONN, and BU were all victorious in their opening matches of the season against top opposition
The mens college soccer season kicked off on Thursday, as New England teams from across the region took on top competition in their season openers. Notably, three teams started their season off on the right foot, getting important shutout victories.
In front of a sold out Virtue Field (sounds familiar), the University of Vermont Catamounts started their title-defending campaign off with a 2-0 victory over Sacred Heart. There were 72 minutes of scoreless soccer before UVM captain Nick Lockermann broke the deadlock with a missile into the bottom right corner. A little over 10 minutes later, Marcell Papp scored his first of the season, securing the 2-0 victory at home for the Catamounts. The visitors put up a hard fought battle, but it was no match for the reigning national champs, who started their season off with a feel-good three points at home.
On the road in Upstate New York at the SU Soccer Stadium, the University of Connecticut Huskies pulled off a massive 1-0 victory over the Syracuse University Orange. Despite a strong start from the hosts, it was the Huskies who struck on the counter attack in the 18th minute, with Austin Brummett scoring the games only goal. Syracuse dominated the remainder of the game, controlling possession and outshooting UCONN 14 to 5. Yet the Orange were simply unable to find the back of the net, thanks in large part to some big saves from UCONN goalkeeper Kyle Durham and quality last ditch defending from the entire Husky backline. It’s safe to say that after the final whistle had gone and the Huskies had secured a hard-fought win, the road trip back to New England for Head Coach Chris Gbandi’s side was an enjoyable one.
Up north in The Granite State, the Boston University Terriers grinded out a 1-0 win over a strong University of New Hampshire squad. The game’s breakthrough moment came in the 48th minute. BU Freshman Austin Mobray powered his way through the Wildcat defense before releasing a shot that bounced back off the post to a crashing Alex Bonnington, who tapped the ball home to give the Terriers a lead. From that point on, the Boston-based school didn’t look back, shutting down an experienced UNH attack. Ben Alexander earned the clean sheet in net for BU, making his save of the game in the 74th minute to deny UNH’s Jiwoo Lee off a corner. It was an excellent start to a difficult opening stretch of matches for the Terriers. Next up: a date with the national champions up in Vermont at 1:00 this upcoming Sunday.