DURHAM NH- After construction work forced the University of New Hampshire (UNH) men’s soccer (4-1-1) to play on Tucker Field the ‘Cats were finally back at Wildcat Stadium for their 3-1 victory over the Princeton University men’s soccer team (1-3-0) on Sept. 15.
Princeton took the lead early in the first half when junior forward Nico Nee sent a corner kick to sophomore defenseman Stephan Duncan who headed the ball into the net.
This is the second time this season UNH has been scored on first, it first happened during their 1-0 loss to Cornell.
“We’ve definitely taken steps in the right direction, two different games for sure. We want that one back. But yeah, we’re just trying to look forward and you know, use these games to take as much film from it and improve from it,” said graduate student forward Eli Goldman.
Goldman scored the game’s first goal for the Wildcats off of a penalty kick in the 66 minute. Head coach Marc Hubbard noted the team’s need to preserve during the moments the game was tied.
“You gotta keep going. You gotta keep pressing. So just ride that momentum and this has been a very friendly stadium to us over the years. So just making sure we keep going,” said Hubbard.
Not even four minutes later, Goldman would strike again and take the lead for the ‘Cats off of an assist from graduate student Georgios Koliniatis who sent a through ball for a breakaway. This is the fourth time in Goldman’s career that he scored the game-winning goal.
At the 87-minute mark, the Tigers’ fate was sealed when graduate student Dylan Maxon sent a pass to fellow graduate student Bilal Kamal who passed it off to first-year student Austin Bush for the goal. That would be Bush’s second goal of the season.
Coach Hubbard complimented the two goals and how those plays will be important during the rest of the season.
“It’s just great when your forwards score. You want those guys to put the ball in the net and have that confidence going forward, especially in a conference play. Happy for both of them… some good individual play tonight,” said Hubbard.
Coach Hubbard commented on being back at Wildcat Stadium and how the environment there is so special.
“The environment’s way better. We’re having stands, the board, and the audio and everything. So very happy to be back here,” said Hubbard.
The Wildcats are looking to continue the improvement and focus on working together as they get deeper into the season.
“It’s cliche but really just improved from each game. We have such a new group we knew is going to be a tough start and we’re still trying to click. We haven’t played a complete 90, we don’t have a shutout yet,” said Goldman. “So just each game trying to improve on these things, and hopefully take it to the tournament if we can get there”.
The Wildcats will have some time to rest as their next game will be Saturday, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. against Binghamton University (2-4-0). This will be the first America East conference game for UNH this season.
