Wildcats Win AE Championship with 5-0 Victory Versus UMBC

Sunday, November 11

2 PM

University of New Hampshire

12-3-2

University of Maryland Baltimore County

10-6-4

UMBC

New Hampshire

Photo by Meghan Murphy

11/11/2018 12:16:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Video Highlights

UNH earns third appearance in NCAA Tournament.

DURHAM, N.H. – Senior Alex Valencia (Tracy, Calif.) and sophomore Linus Fallberg (Jonkoping, Sweden) each posted a goal and two assists as the University of New Hampshire men's soccer team defeated UMBC, 5-0, to win the program's first ever America East Tournament championship. The Wildcats earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The five goals set an America East Tournament championship game record.

This will be the Wildcats' third NCAA Tournament appearance as they received at large bids to the 1994 and 2017 tournaments. Last year, UNH advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time in program history. The NCAA Selection Show is Monday, Nov. 12 at 1:00 p.m. on NCAA.com.

Sophomore Josh Bauer (Bedford, N.H.) was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Bauer, graduate student Lars Huxsohl (Hamburg, Germany), senior Alex Valencia (Tracy, Calif.) and junior Antonio Colacci (Bradenton, Fla.) were named to the All-Tournament Team. With a 3.90 GPA, senior Nick Miller (Lebanon, Pa.) won the America East Elite 18 Award for having the highest cumulative grade point average of anyone competing in today's final.

Video Highlights

GAME INFORMATION:
America East Championship Game
Score: New Hampshire 5, UMBC 0
Records: UNH (12-3-2), UMBC (10-6-4)
Location: Durham, N.H. (Wildcat Stadium)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Attendance: 1,290

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Wildcats struck first in the fifth minute (4:32) when Bauer headed the ball from 10 yards out off the right post and into the back of the net off a long throw by redshirt-freshman Jonny Wolf (Hopkinton, Mass.).
Valencia increased the Wildcat lead to 2-0 when he volleyed the ball to the upper right corner of the net off a pass from Fallberg in the sixth minute (5:55).

In the 18th minute, Fallberg blasted a shot from 10 yards out to the upper right corner of the net off a pass from Valencia giving the Wildcats a 3-0 lead.
In the 38th minute, junior Donnett Sackie (Monrovia, Liberia) fired a shot towards the lower left corner from 15 yards out, but Quantrell Jones was able to keep it out of the net with a diving save.
Huxsohl made his first save of the game off back-to-back shots from 10 yards out by Ben Dao in the 39th minute.
At the half, the Wildcats had outshot the Retrievers 7-3.
In the 49th minute, Valencia sent a free kick into the box from 25 yards out as junior Siggi Geirsson (Reykjavik, Iceland) was able to head the ball to junior Kyle Brewster (New Hampton, N.H.) who redirected the ball into the upper right corner of the net bringing the Wildcat lead to 4-0.

UNH increased its lead in the 57th minute after Fallberg fired a pass into the box as sophomore Jacob Gould (Exeter, N.H.) sent a header to junior Jack Doherty (Meriden, N.H.) who was able to run the ball into the lower right corner of the net.
The Wildcats kept the Retrievers off the scoreboard for the rest of the second half to earn the championship win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

Huxsohl made two saves to record his ninth shutout of the season, while Jones posted three.
UNH outshot UMBC, 16-5, while the Wildcats took eight shots on goal and the Retrievers tallied two.
UNH had seven corner kicks, while UMBC took three.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

UNH has only allowed nine goals all year, outscoring the opposition 25-9. This was the team's 10th shutout of the season.
The Wildcats remain undefeated at Wildcat Stadium this season with a record of 10-0-0, improving their all-time record to 20-0-3.
UNH has outscored its opponents 44-8 over the 23 games played at the stadium.
This is the first time this season UNH has scored over three goals.
The five goals set an America East Tournament championship game record.
This was the Wildcats' fifth appearance in the championship game. The previous appearances were 1993 (BU 1, UNH 0), 1994 (BU 3, UNH 1), 2010 (UMBC 0, UNH 0-UMBC wins PKs 5-4) and 2012 (UMBC 0, UNH 0-UMBC wins PKs 4-2).
This was the first time UNH hosted the championship game.

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