DURHAM – What a remarkable run it was.
The University of New Hampshire men’s soccer team won more games in 2017 than it had in any season in more than two decades, and the Wildcats saved the best for last when they went on an unprecedented postseason run.
Now the Wildcats will see what they can do about matching – better yet, surpassing – those historic results. They are ranked No. 19 in the country, a program-best to open a season.
Fittingly, UNH, opens its home schedule with an NCAA tournament rematch against Fairfield University on Monday night at Wildcat Stadium starting at 7 p.m.
UNH notched its first NCAA victory in program history, 3-0, over Fairfield at Wildcat Stadium to kick off last year’s playoff journey.
The Wildcats go into their home opener off a 1-0 loss at No. 15 Virginia on Friday in a tussle between top 20 teams. UNH went toe-to-toe with the perennial ACC power – the Cavaliers have won seven national championships and qualified for the NCAA tournament 37 straight years – in a game that appeared headed for overtime until Virginia scored with 21.3 seconds to play.
Bring on the season – and particularly the pair of tough tests to kick things off – said forward Chris Arling, a senior out of Windham.
“We have a good mindset going into the season and I think these games will be a really good test, a test for our group to see how far we’ve come and a chance to prove to everyone that we’re going to continue where we left off last season,” Arling said.
The Wildcats finished 13-4-5 overall last season for more wins than any year since 1994, which also was the last and only other time they have qualified for the NCAA tournament.
After beating Fairfield, UNH knocked off Dartmouth on the road and advanced to a Round of 16 game against No. 2-ranked Indiana.
“It was a really great feeling,” said back/midfielder Kyle Brewster, a junior from New Hampton. “We’ve always had the goal of making it into the NCAAs. To actually have it happen is a really great feeling, really surreal for me.”
The Wildcats have improved their record in each of their seasons under coach Marc Hubbard – they were 10-5-3 in 2015 and 12-7-0 in 2016 – and the bar has been raised at each step along the way.
“It’s about how we deal with higher expectations and getting a lot of new guys on the same page with the returners as quickly as possible,” Hubbard said. “Naturally, I think that puts guys into more of a focus early on. But we have a long way to go still. We’re feeling good within our system and how we can approach our game, but it’s going to take a while for everyone to gel.”
Along with higher expectations have come a higher profile and recognition from opposing teams, which Hubbard said was noticeable in preseason games this year.
The players have gotten the message.
“Everything we do has to be better this year because teams are going to be trying to take us down, even in the early stages of the season,” Brewster said. “Obviously being ranked in the preseason rankings is a big target on our heads. We want to just keep doing what we’ve been doing the past year and come into the season and continue that high level that we’ve had.”
The outlook can’t change, the coach said.
“It’s a lot of the same things that made us successful last year that we have to continue to do,” Hubbard said. “Teams are going to come out and want to beat us so we have to approach the game with more of a focus like we are the underdog and really try and take an approach where we can get that first goal and create some momentum from there.”
UNH’s strength, at least in the early-going, should be up front and in the net, Hubbard said.
“From an attacking standpoint, that’s where our most depth is,” he said “There and goalkeeper. Everywhere in between we’ve got to figure that out. I feel pretty good about our attack, our forwards. Comfortable in goalkeeping.”
Arling returns after missing the latter part of last season with an injury. He scored 15 goals in 2016 and had four last year.
Junior Jack Doherty and sophomores Jacob Gould and Linus Fallberg each scored three goals last season.
Andrew Pesci, now graduated, played every minute at goalkeeper for the Wildcats in the last two seasons.
Graduate student Lars Huxsohl, junior Dylan Thomson of Concord, redshirt freshman Tomeu Pocovi and freshman Ben Bowers are the goaltending crew.
“I think the guys we have, have stepped up and done a good job,” Hubbard said. “We feel confident with all four guys at that position.”
Huxsohl started the opener at Virginia on Friday and made four saves.
Pesci and the defense combined to allow just 13 goals last season for a paltry 0.555 goals-against average that was sixth-best in the country.
Seniors Otto Sahlen and Juan Velazquez, juniors Brewster and Siggi Geirsson and sophomore Josh Bauer of Bedford are among the veterans who will be counted on to shore up this year’s defense alongside a group of younger players.
Overall, the Wildcats lost five starters from last season after rebuilding from losing nine the year before.
The retooling and chase for an America East regular-season title, league tournament championship and back-to-back appearances in the NCAA tournament has begun.
There is much work to be done. And when it comes time for a late season run, these Wildcats have success and recent history on which to draw.
“I think it’s more of now if we get into that scenario again, we have familiarity and an understanding of what it takes,” Hubbard said. “How little the difference is and what we need to do better and that sort of thing. I think it gives everyone the belief that we belong there and we can do it. Now it’s consistently staying in that upper echelon that is the challenge.”
(Allen Lessels is the UNH Insider and can be reached at Allen.Lessels@unh.edu)