Men’s Soccer Suffers First Loss of Season at Harvard, 1-0

Tuesday, October 6

Cambridge, Mass.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

7-1-2

Harvard University

3-4-2

New Hampshire

Harvard

Photo by: Greg Greene

10/6/2015 9:29:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Senior Keeper Ryan Carpenter Made Four Saves; 'Cats now Stand at 7-1-2

BOSTON – The University of New Hampshire men's soccer team suffered its first loss of the season Tuesday night as the team fell at Harvard University, 1-0. Senior goalkeeper Ryan Carpenter (Newmarket, N.H.) made four saves in the match.

With the loss, the Wildcats fall to 7-1-2 on the season while the Crimson improve to 3-4-2 overall.

In the third minute of play, Wildcat keeper Carpenter came up with his first save of the night as Harvard's Jake Freeman fired a shot on net. Carpenter made his second save in the sixth minute after Matt Sheeleigh put a header attempt on net.

The Wildcats nearly got on the board in the 20^th minute as senior A.J. Albers (Eagan, Minn.) ripped a shot on net, but his attempt was just high.

Carpenter came up with a huge save for the 'Cats in the 24^th minute. Harvard's Nate Devine was awarded a penalty kick after a foul on New Hampshire, but Carpenter stood tall and thwarted the attempt.

The Wildcats threatened in the following minute as senior Fazal Nabi (Portland, Maine) fired a shot that was saved by Harvard keeper Evan Mendez. Eight seconds later, junior co-captain Chris Wingate (Hovik, Norway) blasted a shot on net, but Mendez denied the attempt to keep the Wildcats off the board. UNH kept the offensive pressure coming with shots by freshman Chris Arling (Windham, N.H.) and sophomore Will Rasid (Wilbraham, Mass.), but were unable to connect.

At the end of the first half, the match was scoreless. The Wildcats held a 8-6 advantage in shots and a 3-0 edge in corner kicks.

The second half began immediately with pressure from the Wildcats. Arling blasted a shot just 17 seconds into the frame, but his attempt was just wide. Nabi followed suit in the following minute, however Mendez made a save on his shot.

Harvard broke the stalemate in the 55^th minute of play on a goal by Freeman. Sam Brown started the play as he played a cross into the mixer that Freeman connected with to make the match 1-0.
Carpenter stood strong in net for UNH as h denied a shot by Andrew Chang in the 60^th minute. After a foul on Harvard, Arling connected on a ball into the box with a header, but put his bid just wide. Senior Jimmy Petruccelli (Newfields, N.H.) lobbed a corner kick into the box in the 83^rd minute that Arling played, but his shot was wide of the net. Senior co-captain Andrew Chaput (Manchester, N.H.) almost tied the game in the 85^th minute as he too connected with a Petruccelli corner kick, but he was just wide of the target with his attempt.

At the end of the match, the Crimson held on for a 1-0 win. Carpenter made four saves on five shots faced in the match as his record now stands at 6-1-2. Mendez made saves on all five shots faced in the match. His record improves to 3-4-2. The Wildcats outshot Harvard 15-7 in the game.

The Wildcats return home as they resume conference play against Stony Brook University on Saturday, Oct. 10. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

For more information on men's soccer, visit www.UNHWildcats.com. To sign up for UNH Text Alerts, click HERE or text UNH to 90561.