 "Photo: P.J. Stanley/Collegian")
The Massachusetts men's soccer team prevented opponents from getting the ball into their net throughout the Atlantic 10 tournament.
In the end, only the Minutemen could score on the Minuteman defense.
UMass defeated No. 17 Saint Louis, 2-0, Friday in the semifinals of the A-10 tournament. However, the Minutemen lost to Dayton, 1-0, in the A-10 championship game when a UMass defender accidentally headed the ball into his own net.
"We shut out Saint Louis in the first game. We denied Dayton from scoring against us in the second game, but we couldn't shut ourselves out," UMass coach Sam Koch said. "The only way to beat [goalkeeper Zack Simmons] was for us to score on him."
The loss cost the Minutemen (10-7-3) an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament and puts their hopes for an at-large bid in jeopardy. UMass finds out tonight at 6:00 p.m. whether the tournament committee believes it deserves a chance to make it back to the College Cup.
The tournament and quite possibly season-deciding goal came on a fluke play 19 minutes into the game. Dayton's Zack Weiss booted the ball into the box while trying to set up his teammate. A UMass defender tried to head it over the crossbar, but it took an awkward bounce and wound up in the corner of the UMass net.
Following the goal, The Minutemen created several chances, but could not break through the Flyer's defense.
UMass had its best chance to score in the 77th minute when sophomore midfielder Chris Vaccaro beat Dayton goalkeeper Tyler Picard and had what seemed to be an open net. At the last second, a Dayton defender leapt in front of the shot and headed the ball just over the crossbar.
"A great play by their defender," Koch said. "If [Vaccaro] had put that in, that would have changed the game obviously."
UMass outshot Dayton 14-11 and earned a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks. Koch was proud of his team's effort, but was disappointed they could not get the victory.
"We just didn't have what it took to win the game, we didn't have that little extra something and I give Dayton a lot of credit," Koch said. "They came out hungry, they came out ready, and they made it very hard for us to play. My hat goes off to them and I wish them the best in the NCAA tournament."
The game was played in snowy conditions that made it challenging for both teams. At one point, UMass midfielder Chris Roswess' feet got wet and he wound up loosing feeling in his feet in the second half.
Koch did not believe that the weather had an effect on the outcome, mentioning that the Minutemen are used to cold weather and snow.
The Minutemen advanced to the finals by defeating the Billikens (11-4-5) for the second time this season. Saint Louis came into both games ranked in the top 25 in the country, but could not overcome the Minutemen this year. UMass beat the Billikens 2-1 in double overtime on Nov. 7.
UMass started off quickly as Roswess scored his second goal of the season nine minutes into the game, converting a crossing pass from midfielder Ben Arikian. Arikian notched his team-leading seventh assist on the play.
In the 37th minute of play, a Saint Louis defender committed a foul on UMass defender Dan Lepone inside the box. Lepone was awarded a penalty kick, which he converted on to give UMass a two-goal lead. It was the first career goal for Lepone.
Scott Feldman can be reached at sfeldman@student.umass.edu.
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