The UNH Men’s Soccer team are coming off a very impressive 12-4-2 season in 2018, in which they won the America East Conference Championship in route to another appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They look to have another successful year under head coach Marc Hubbard who is entering his fifth year as the head coach. The Wildcats have won at least ten games in each season since Hubbard has taken over the reins and have now appeared in two straight NCAA Tournaments.
UNH finished second in the America East Conference standings last season with an in-conference record of 4-2-1. On top of that, the Wildcats showed that no matter the opponent, beating them at home, in Wildcat Stadium, was just not going to happen. They went 10-1 last season at home and are now 20-1-3 all-time at Wildcat Stadium.
In terms of how the roster will shape up, UNH will have six seniors this year including key players in midfielder Antonio Colacci, forward Donnett Sackie, and forward Jack Doherty who make up the core of this team. In addition to those three, dangerous offensive and defensive weapons respectively in midfielder Linus Fallberg and back Josh Bauer will be returning as well. Bauer, the 2018 America East Defender of the Year, will anchor the defense while posing as an offensive threat as well, coming off of a season with double-digit goals.
The team lost starting seniors, Alex Valencia, Juan Velazquez, and Kyle Brewster from the 2018 squad. Even without them, however, the team shouldn’t lack leadership as they will be run through its seniors this year as well as a few other difference makers. On top of losing those starters, the Wildcats lost 2018 America East Goalkeeper of the year Lars Huxsohl who had 0.58 goals-against average and a .722 winning percentage as well as eight shutouts. UNH now has three goalkeepers in sophomore Tomeu Pocovi, graduate student Alejandro Robles and redshirt sophomore, Ben Bowers. The starter is unclear, but the position will most likely go to either Pocvoi or Robles who have more experience than the younger Bowers who was red-shirted last season.
The Wildcats have no ranked opponents on their schedule for 2019 but will be playing some fairly tough opponents in Stony Brook and Vermont who are both in-conference foes. They will also face off against Dartmouth and Colgate who they have met in the NCAA Tournament each of the last two years.
This team is certainly set up for success in 2019, but we’ll have to wait and see how Marc Hubbard and his Wildcats perform in this upcoming season. They open the season on Thursday, August 29, at 7:00 PM in Wildcat Stadium against Boston University who finished with a putrid 5-10-4 record in 2018.
