The Plymouth State soccer squad settled for a draw on Friday, September 26th at the New Hampton field against the University of Southern Maine.
The Panthers dominated the game, having a 10-2 shot advantage over Southern Maine (including 3 in overtime), but couldn’t put one past freshman keeper Charles Mull.
Mull was dominant in goal throughout the game. With time winding down in regulation play, he saved a bullet from Panther attack man Nick Rutherford (Batesman Bay, New South Wales), then hopped in front of the rebound put back by Petro Masumbuko (Macnhester, N.H.) for the amazing save at point blank range.
Sophomore keeper Felix Lindeberg (Stockholm, Sweden) played a fine game in the Panther net, eating up both shots put on goal.
On Saturday (9/27), Panther football looked to come off a brutal week three loss, and get back into playoff contention with hopes of a home win against UMass Dartmouth.
The best word to describe play on the beautiful afternoon was sloppy; from the first play of the game to the very last, both teams struggled to keep possession.
Plymouth won the toss, and decided to kick off the ball to start the game. The UMD return man couldn’t hold onto the kickoff, but still managed to return it to the 7 yard line. 13 plays later, junior back Preston Cooper busted through the defense on 4th down and tiptoed 23 yards for the first score of the game. After a failed 2-point conversion, UMD led 6-0.
PSU got on the scoreboard after a Corsair punt deflected off an offensive lineman and fumbled out of the end zone for a safety.
There was an excessive amount of laundry on the field this past homecoming, and it came back to bite both teams throughout the game. The Panthers were rewarded a first down after a UMD defensemen ran into the punter. The penalty set up for a 20 yard run by quarterback Drew Bolton (Concord, N.H.) and a 34 yard field goal by Rob Giles (Derry, N.H.) to bring the Panthers within one.
UMD’s next possession was stopped with :38 seconds to go in the second quarter when the Panther defense stood them up on 4th and six, and ended the scoring for the half.
Plymouth State returned the ball to their own 34 yard line to start the second half. Bolton started off play with a 6 yard run, and was awarded an additional 15 yards after a late hit out of play. After 34 yards of rushing on three plays by Andrew Vollaro (Higganum, CT), Mark Hennessey (Westford, MA) drove in the first touchdown of the game from 11 yards out, but was called back for a hold. The Panthers settled for what was going to be a field goal, but a UMD defenseman got a hand on the ball and killed the drive.
Plymouth State went three and out twice after their defense turned the ball over on two consecutive drives. UMD drove the length of the field after the blocked kick, but was picked off in the end zone by Sean Kunkel (Haskell, N.J.). Senior beast Kyle Wilson (Dover, N.H.) recovered a fumble on the ensuing drive.
UMD gained possession and scored after a PSU fumble with a 10 yard rush from Cory Burnham, and after the 2 point conversion, went up 14-5.
UMD capped off the scoring in the fourth with a one yard touchdown run by Preston Cooper after a 9 play, 66 yard drive. After Plymouth State marched down the field in the closing minutes of the fourth, they were picked off at the UMD 3 yard line by Diego Hebra, and was returned for 94 yards before Bobby Whelan (Falmouth, MA) took him down on what was the greatest hustle play of the game.
Men’s soccer had games in September 30th against Norwich, and October 5th against Western Connecticut. Panther football traveled to Westfield State on the 4th.