Menudier nets two goals and Robles posts a shutout with six saves.
DURHAM, N.H. – Senior Victor Menudier (Limoges, France) scored two goals as the top-seeded and No. 10 University of New Hampshire men's soccer team shut out Hartford, 2-0, in the America East Semifinals on Thursday afternoon at Wildcat Stadium. Menudier netted his first goal in the 43rd minute of the game with an assist from junior Chris Pinkham (Concord, N.H.). He scored his second goal early in the second half after receiving an assist from graduate student Sam Henneberg (Guildford, England).
Graduate student goalkeeper Alejandro Robles (Monterey, Mexico) made six saves throughout today's contest, tallying his 11th career shutout and the third of this season. With this win, the Wildcats improve to 7-0-1 while the Hawks end their season with a record of 3-3-1. UP NEXT:
UNH looks to claim the America East Championship title for the third season in a row as the Wildcats will take on No. 2 seed Vermont in the America East Championship game at Wildcat Stadium on Saturday, April 17 at 4 PM on AmericaEast.TV. A limited number of UNH undergraduate student spectators will be allowed to attend the game. CLAIM TICKETS. Please view the Spectator Policy.
Score: New Hampshire 2, Hartford 0 Records: UNH (7-0-1), Hartford (3-3-1) Location: Durham, N.H. (Wildcat Stadium) Date: Thursday, April 15, 2021 Time: 2:00 p.m. Attendance: 126 (A limited number of student tickets were made available for today's game.)
BOXSCORE | VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS | POSTGAME COMMENTS HOW IT HAPPENED: The Wildcats will be playing for their third straight AE Championship on Saturday at 4 PM (Photo by China Wong)
UNH and Hartford fought aggressively for possession in the beginning of the first half until the Wildcats put their first shot on goal at 11:59 off a header from senior Jacob Gould(Exeter, N.H) who received a pass from Henneberg. Hartford's Rotem Fadida made the save.
Just a minute later, Hartford's Nadav Datner went on a breakaway. Robles put out his left leg and blocked the shot, making his first save of the game.
In the 32nd minute, UNH put its second shot on goal after leading a strong offensive charge down the field. Sophomore Bilal Kamal (London, England) reacted quickly to a ball deflected off of Hartford and blasted a shot that was saved by Fadida.
The Wildcats put themselves on the board first in the 43rd minute with a goal from Menudier who headed a pass from Pinkham that was saved by Fadida. Menudier then captured his own rebound, kicked the ball around Fadida and into the bottom middle of the net.
Victor Menudier is tied for the team-lead with five goals (Photo by China Wong)
After the first half, UNH and Hartford both had four shots on goal.
The Wildcats wasted no time and went up 2-0 with another goal from Menudier in the 47th minute. After receiving a long pass from Henneberg in the back field, Menudier beat Hartford's defender to the ball and fired it past Fadida to the middle of the net.
The Hawks tallied another shot on goal during the 69th minute of the game as Sergi Martinez put a strong kick on the ball from the left side of the goalie box as Robles laid out, reaching for the ball and making the save.
UNH was able to keep the Hawks off the scoreboard, leading to the final score 2-0.
Chris Pinkham posted an assist on the game winner (Photo by China Wong) INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
New Hampshire outshot Hartford, 23-8, while the 'Cats posted eight shots on goal and the Hawks took six.
The 'Cats took four corner kicks, while the Hawks took five.
Robles saved six shots for UNH, while Fadida had eight.
Alejandro Robles has 11 career shutouts (Photo by China Wong) BEYOND THE BOXSCORE: Sam Henneberg posted his first point as a Wildcat (Photo by China Wong)
UNH is now 33-1-5 all-time at Wildcat Stadium, outscoring the opposition by a 76-14 advantage.
UNH is 4-0-1 at home this year with 14 goals and have only allowed three.
This will be UNH's seventh appearance in the championship game (1993, 1994, 2010, 2012, 2018, 2019, 2021).
The Wildcats look to defend their America East Championship title, as they won in 2018 and 2019.
Menudier netted his fourth and fifth goals of the season, his first multiple-goal game.
With their assists, Henneberg earned his first point as a Wildcat and Pinkham tallied his second point of the year.
Victor Menudier and the Wildcats are 4-0-1 this season (Photo by China Wong)
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