STONY BROOK, N.Y. – No. 17 University of New Hampshire (UNH) men’s soccer (3-0-1, 2-0-1) traveled to New York to battle the Stony Brook Seawolves (1-3-1, 1-1-1). The Wildcats remained undefeated and took home a 2-1 victory.
The Wildcats dominated possession early on in the game and had some solid runs which lead to goal scoring opportunities. UNH took their first shot on goal in the 15th minute when sophomore midfielder Bilal Kamal sent a free kick through the Seawolf defense to graduate student Paul Mayer who was able to tip it, but it couldn’t find the back of the net as sophomore Stony Brook goalkeeper Edmond Kaiser made the save keeping the game scoreless.
UNH jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute when senior Victor Menudier ripped a shot and found the back of the net. The opportunity came from a feed from Kamal who earned the assist on the play.
UNH kept pushing for another goal to increase their lead; however, it went the opposite direction when the Seawolves tied the game 1-1. The opportunity came when UNH committed a foul in the box which led to a Stony Brook penalty kick. Senior Kori Cupid was given the shot, but the reigning America East Goalkeeper of the Year Alejandro Robles came up with the save on the initial attempt. The UNH defense wasn’t able to collapse in time, however, allowing for Cupid to collect his own rebound and put it into the back of the net with his left foot.
Exiting halftime UNH was able to control play and made Kaiser play the ball. Kaiser attempted to clear the ball and put it on to UNH’s half, but it was blocked by Mayer and the ball ricocheted into the net giving UNH the 2-1 lead and what ended up being the game-winning goal. The goal was scored just a minute into the second half and Stony Brook had an uphill battle against a strong UNH defense the rest of the way.
UNH kept the pressure up all game tallying 16 shots compared to Stony Brook’s four. The ‘Cats also posted seven shots on goal compared to just three for the Seawolves. The high danger chances remained close almost all match as the corner kick battle was a narrow one; UNH ended with five attempts and Stony Brook added four.
The Wildcats were able to hold off the Seawolves’ attack as Robles came up huge with a number of saves in the final moments.
UNH will look to improve next week as they come back home to Wildcat Stadium to welcome the Hartford Hawks on Friday, March 26 at 3 p.m.
Photo courtesy of UNH Athletics.
