DURHAM, N.H. – Freshman Bilal Kamal (London, England) netted the game-winning goal as the No. 16 nationally ranked University of New Hampshire men's soccer team defeated Fairleigh Dickinson, 1-0, to win their first-round game of the NCAA Tournament at Wildcat Stadium on Thursday night.
The Wildcats improve to 15-1-3 on the season, and the Knights end the season with a 7-9-4 record. With tonight's win, the Wildcats tie the school record of 15 wins, which was set in 1994.
UP NEXT:
The Wildcats will travel to Virginia Tech for their second-round NCAA Tournament matchup on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 4 p.m. to take on the No. 10 seed Hokies.
Graduate student goalkeeper Alejandro Robles (Monterey, Mexico) made his first save of the night in the eighth minute when FDU's Daniel Lasarte ripped a bouncing shot from outside the box.
In the 31st minute, senior Alan Kehoe (Dublin, Ireland) sent a curving shot in from the left side of the field, but goalkeeper Jahmali Waite quickly secured it.
Senior Jack Doherty (Meriden, N.H.) blasted a shot to the lower right corner of net in the 33rd minute, but Waite made a diving save to keep the game scoreless.
In the 44th minute, senior Antonio Colacci (Bradenton, Fla.) fired the ball from 20 yards out in the middle of the field that barely missed the top of the goal.
By the end of the first half, UNH recorded three shots on goal and FDU had two. The Wildcats tallied five corner kicks.
Graduate student Jacob Mannix (Longmeadow, Mass.) blasted the ball right on goal but Waite made the save in the 63rd minute.
In the 67th minute, graduate student James Thomas (Woking, England) ripped a low shot down the middle that was deflected by Waite, then senior Brandon Garland (Glastonbury, Conn.) followed up with a shot off the post, and Kamal took a shot off of that rebound that sailed over the net.
Robles made another tricky save in the 74th minute when Diego Arribas whipped a shot in from the left side of the field.
In the 76th minute, Kamal put the Wildcats on the board when he dribbled through four defenders and blasted the ball into the upper right corner of the net.
With under two minutes left in the game, Arribas sent a redirecting header towards the goal which Robles tipped at the last second to keep the Knights off the scoreboard and help secure a win for the Wildcats.
Bilal Kamal scored his first collegiate game winner (Photo by Meghan Murphy)
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
Robles made four saves, to improve to 13-1-3 on the season and he recorded his eighth shutout. Waite posted six saves on the night, and concludes the season with a 7-8-4 record.
UNH outshot FDU, 26-6, while the Wildcats took seven shots on goal and the Knights tallied four.
UNH had nine corner kicks, while FDU took one.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
This marked Kamal's first career game-winning-goal. He has three goals and five assists for 11 points on the season.
The Wildcats are now 2-1-0 all-time in NCAA Tournament games played at Wildcat Stadium.
UNH is now 2-3-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
UNH has only allowed seven goals all year, outscoring the opposition 38-7. This was the team's 13th shutout of the season.
The Wildcats remain undefeated at Wildcat Stadium this season with a record of 9-0-1, improving their all-time record to 29-1-4.
UNH has outscored its opponents 62-11 over the 34 games played at the stadium.
STAY CONNECTED:
There are numerous ways to stay connected with the UNH men's soccer team. Follow the Wildcats on Twitter @UNHMSoccer and on Instagram @unhmenssoccer.
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