Men's Soccer Reaches Highest Win Total Since 2008 in 2-1 Victory Over UMass Lowell
BOX SCORE
ALBANY, N.Y.- University at Albany men's soccer (7-6-1, 2-2-0 AE) captured another three points in America East play on Saturday night, downing UMass Lowell (7-6-0, 2-2-0 AE) 2-1 at Tom & Mary Casey Stadium. Jake Barros netted the gamewinner for the Great Danes.
“We're really pleased to get another conference win,” said head coach Trevor Gorman. “There have been a lot of good signs the last couple of weeks, and we made it difficult for them to get the ball out of their own end. Now we need to focus on keeping and maintaining a lead down the stretch.”
On the first significant play of the game, UAlbany wasted no time getting on the board. Moosah Khanat streaked down the right side of the River Hawk end to send a ball towards goal. Khanat found Philip Persson waiting at the top of the six-yard box. The senior co-captain controlled the volley on the one-touch, putting the ball past UMass Lowell goalie Austin Kroll.
Despite totaling five shots in the first period, only Persson's goal and a header from Leo Melgar in the 37th minute were on target. UAlbany's goalkeeper Eric Orologio saw just one shot in the opening 45 minutes.
The pace of play picked up in the second half, with the Danes again getting the better of the River Hawks out of the gate. Anthony Rozzano sent a pass to the 18-yard box from 30 yards out. Nico Solabarrieta ran on to the ball, managing a header across the box to Barros. Barros breezed by his defender to bury the shot, good for a 2-0 UAlbany lead with 30 minutes left in regulation. The sophomore has now scored in two consecutive games.
But UMass Lowell did not let up, coming back within one less than two minutes later. After a previous offside call brought back one of their goals, Guilherme Rodrigues converted on a loose ball in front of the Purple & Gold net.
The Danes started to feel the pressure down the stretch, as UMass Lowell pushed forward into its offensive third. Orologio made a save over the bar in the 74th minute to set up a dangerous corner kick opportunity for the River Hawks. UMass Lowell's Edward Venta-Yepes put the ball in play, and the resulting scramble left Martin Gorrie on the near post to make a defensive save. The senior co-captain maintained a 2-1 edge for the Danes with 15 minutes to play.
With a scare on the defensive end behind them, Solabarrieta and Barros nearly teamed up for a 3-1 cushion, but a miscommunication in the 18-yard box put a pass just out of reach for Solabarrieta.
The victory at a frigid Tom & Mary Casey Stadium on Saturday night put UAlbany back in the conference regular season chase. UMBC and UNH fought to a 1-1 draw on Saturday, while Binghamton and Hartford went scoreless in two overtimes. Five of the eight America East teams have two wins, including UAlbany, UMass Lowell, UNH, UMBC and Binghamton.
The Purple & Gold now has its highest single-season win total since 2008, and best under Trevor Gorman's tenure.
UAlbany men's soccer (7-6-1, 2-2 AE) takes a break from conference play on Tuesday, Oct. 20 with a 7:00pm game at Boston University (9-3-1, 4-0-1 PL).
