No. 23 Men’s Soccer Takes on Holy Cross Friday (7:35 PM)

Friday, September 9

Worcester, Mass.

7:35 PM

University of New Hampshire

Holy Cross

Photo by: Greg Greene

9/8/2016 3:45:00 PM | Men's Soccer

DURHAM, N.H. – The 23^rd-ranked undefeated University of New Hampshire men's soccer team will travel to the College of the Holy Cross on Friday, Sept. 9 for a tilt under the lights at 7:35 p.m.

SCOUTING UNH: The Wildcats, who come in at 4-0-0 on the year, are coming off a 4-1 triumph at the University of Massachusetts on Tuesday, Sept. 6. After a scoreless first half, the Minutemen took a 1-0 lead in the 48^th minute on a goal by Samuel Asamoah. Alex DeSantis played a low cross into the box that Asmoah connected with a shot at the net. The ball took a redirect in the box and made its way into the net.

Just 35 seconds later, Jack Dickson (Bournemouth, England) leveled the score at 1-1 with his first goal of the season. Ben Gleditsch (Oslo, Norway) launched a cross into the box to about five yards out of the goal that Dickson corralled and buried into the net.

Chris Arling (Windham, N.H.), whose goal would prove to be the game winner, scored his third goal in his last three games from 10 yards out to give UNH a 2-1 advantage. The ball came loose after UMass goalie Jorge Becerra made a save on the initial shot, and Arling drilled the rebound home for the goal.

In the 64^th minute, Alex Valencia (Tracey, Calif.) notched his second goal of the year to put the 'Cats up by a score of 3-1. Wingate fired a shot that Becerra saved initially, but Valencia ripped a shot that bounced off the inside post and into the net.

William Picoux (Lorient, France) notched his first goal of the season in the 70^th minute while Jack Doherty (Meriden, N.H.) earned his first assist of the season on the play to put UNH up by a score of 4-1. Doherty played a ball into the mixer that Picoux connected with and put away inside the right post.

Arling leads the team in points with six on three goals, two of which are game winners. Valencia has five points on two goals and one assist while Wingate has four points on a goal and two assists. Gleditsch and Picoux each have one goal and one assist for three points while Dickson, Kyle Brewster (New Hampton, N.H.) and Kristian Piippo (Honefoss, Norway) all have two points on one goal. Doherty and Riley Ellis (Goffstown, N.H.) round out the crew with one point apiece on one assist.

Goalkeeper Andrew Pesci (Windham, N.H.) has played every minute of the first four games and holds a 4-0-0 record with a 1.00 goals against average and a .667 save percentage.

SCOUTING HOLY CROSS: The Crusaders (2-1-0) are coming off a 5-0 win at home against Siena College on Tuesday, Sept. 6. Matt Villano, who scored in the contest against Siena, leads the team with six points with two goals and two assists. Arno Rupp and Owen Azrak each have three points, Rupp on one goal and one assist and Azrak with three assists. Five additional Crusaders each have two points on a goal.

Keeper Henry Stutz has played all but 8:55 in net for HC. He has a record of 2-1-0 with a goals against average of 1.03 and a save percentage of .750.

INSIDE THE SERIES: The two teams have played each other 17 times with UNH holding a 12-2-3 advantage. The last time they squared off was Oct. 16, 2012 when the Crusaders took the game by a score of 1-0.

NEXT UP: UNH takes a week off between games before the team travels to Colgate University on Friday, Sept. 16 for a game at 7 p.m. The Wildcats are not home next until Wednesday, Sept. 21 when they host Northeastern University at Wildcat Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

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