Top Seed UNH Advances to AE Finals for Fourth Straight Time with 4-0 Shutout of UMBC

Wednesday, November 10

Durham, N.H.

6 PM

University of New Hampshire

16-0-2, 7-0-1

UMBC

8-8-3, 3-4-1

UMBC

New Hampshire

The Wildcats are looking to be only the second team to ever win four straight America East championships (Photo by China Wong)

Photo by: China Wong

Top Seed UNH Advances to AE Finals for Fourth Straight Time with 4-0 Shutout of UMBC

11/10/2021 9:31:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Johann von Knebel tallies three points on the night.

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DURHAM, N.H. – Graduate student Johann von Knebel (Hamburg, Germany) scored the game-winning goal and added two assists as the No. 6 nationally-ranked and No. 1 seed University of New Hampshire men's soccer team defeated No. 5 seed UMBC, 4-0, on Wednesday night at Wildcat Stadium in the America East Semifinals.

With the win, UNH is heading to its fourth consecutive America East Finals at Wildcat Stadium as the Wildcats will take on No. 2 seed Vermont on Sunday, Nov. 14 at 2 p.m. on AE.TV. Tickets are on sale now.

The Wildcats are looking to capture their fourth straight championship. The finals will be a rematch of last season's when UNH defeated UVM, 2-0, on April 17, 2021.

The Wildcats improve to (16-0-2, 8-0-2 AE), while the Retrievers conclude their season with a record of 8-8-3 (3-5-1 AE). The 16 wins for the Wildcats are a new school record. The previous record was 15 in 1994 and 2019.

UNH is just one of two teams that remain undefeated in the nation along with No. 8 St. Louis who holds a record of 13-0-3. The Wildcats have outscored the opposition 43-7 this year and have posted 11 shutouts. UNH's .944 winning percentage leads the nation and is the best in program history.

Score: #1 seed UNH 4, #5 seed UMBC 0
Records: UNH (16-0-2), UMBC (8-8-3)
Location: Durham, N.H. (Wildcat Stadium)
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Attendance: 2,455

Photo Gallery

BOXSCORE | VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS | TEAM STORE

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Wildcats took an early 1-0 lead in the fourth minute (3:26) of the game when von Knebel rocketed a shot into the top right corner of the goal with an assist from junior Rory O'Driscoll (Minneapolis, Minn.).
UNH extended its lead over UMBC in the 32nd minute (31:10) as graduate student Paul Mayer (Strasbourg, France) curled the ball around Quantrell Jones into the bottom left corner of the net after a pass from von Knebel.
O'Driscoll posted another goal for the Wildcats in the 53rd minute (52:27) as he launched the ball cross net and into the right corner of the goal with an assist from sophomore Liam Bennett (Concord, N.H.).
With another assist from von Knebel, graduate student Linus Fallberg (Jonkoping, Sweden) fired a shot in the bottom left corner of the net from 20 yards out in the 64th minute (63:58) and increased UNH's lead to 4-0.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

New Hampshire outshot UMBC, 13-8, while the 'Cats posted seven shots on goal and the Retrievers took two.
The 'Cats took six corner kicks, while the Retrievers took none.
Junior goalkeeper Jassem Koleilat (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) saved two shots for the 'Cats to improve to 16-0-2 on the season, while Jones had one for UMBC.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

The Wildcats are 8-0-2 at home this season, scoring 27 goals and only allowing four. UNH is now 42-1-7 all-time at Wildcat Stadium, outscoring the opposition by a 105-18 advantage.
UNH is 7-0-0 over its last seven AE playoff games and has outscored the opponents, 19-0.
Mayer, O'Driscoll and Fallberg all scored their sixth goal of the season tonight while von Knebel posted his third goal and his first-game winner as a Wildcat.
UNH's all-time record against UMBC is now 10-8-6.
UNH is looking to be only the second team to win four straight America East Tournament championships. Boston University won five in a row from 1993-1997.