Wingate, Arling Propel Men’s Soccer Past Siena, 2-1

Tuesday, August 30

Durham, N.H.

7:00 PM

University of New Hampshire

2-0-0

Siena College

1-1-0

Siena

New Hampshire

Photo by: Elise Austin-Washburn

8/30/2016 9:37:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

DURHAM, N.H. – Senior co-captain Chris Wingate (Hovik, Norway) and sophomore Chris Arling (Windham, N.H.) each scored a goal as the University of New Hampshire men's soccer team defeated Siena College in the home opener Tuesday night, 2-1. UNH improves to 2-0-0 on the year while the Saints fall to 1-1-0.

The Wildcats hit the road for five-straight tilts, the first of which is at the University of Rhode Island on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. UNH returns home Wednesday, Sept. 21 to take on Northeastern in Wildcat Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

In just the ninth minute of the game, Arling scored his first goal of the season to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. He received a pass from Riley Ellis (Goffstown, N.H.) inside the box. Arling turned around and ripped a shot low and two the right of Siena goalkeeper Aleksa Radosavljevic and into the net.

In the 16^th minute, Siena's David Itoafa locked the game at 1-1. He found a bouncing ball in the box that had deflected off multiple players and shot it into the back of the net. Wingate notched his first goal of the season on a penalty kick. Wingate flew into the box with the ball, but was taken down by a Siena defender. He lined his kick up and faked Radosavljevic to his left and blasted his shot right.

Sophomore Alex Valencia (Tracey, Calif.) nearly gave the 'Cats a 3-1 lead as he received a perfect pass in stride from Will Rasid (Wilbraham, Mass.) into the box. Valencia played a one-time volley at the net, but the shot was saved.

At the end of the first half, the Wildcats held a 2-1 lead. UNH outshot Siena by a total of 9-3 in the frame.

The Wildcats started off the second half with offensive prowess, outshooting Siena 8-1 through the first 20 minutes of the half. Freshman Jack Dickson (Bournemouth, England) ripped a shot on net, from the right side of the top of the box, but Radosavljevic batted the ball down and corralled the rebound. Arling nearly got his second goal of the game in the 79^th minute of play with a rocket to the left of the net, but the shot was saved.

At the end of 90 minutes, UNH had taken the game by a score of 2-1. The Wildcats outshot Siena 20-5 in the game and 7-3 for shots on goal. New Hampshire also held an advantage in corner kicks, 9-3.

Junior keeper Andrew Pesci (Windham, N.H.) earned his second win of the season to up his record to 2-0-0 after he made two saves on three shots faced. Radosavljevic's record falls to 1-1-0 as he made five saves on seven shots faced.

For more information on men's soccer, visit www.UNHWildcats.com.