Dec. 14, 2007

CARY, N.C. - The UMass men's soccer team played with pride and determination but were not able to overcome No. 5 seed Ohio State as the Buckeyes defeated the Minutemen, 1-0, on Friday night in the College Cup. Ohio State's Eric Edwards scored in the 52nd minute for the game's only goal. Zack Simmons made six sensational saves for UMass.

The Minutemen finish the season at 17-8-1. Ohio State, now 17-3-5, advances play Wake Forest in Sunday's championship game. Eric Edwards scored the games only goal in the games 52nd minute after Simmons stopped two shots, but Edwards kicked in the rebound for the Buckeyes who make that goal stand up.

The goal came after a scoreless first half where the Buckeyes outshot UMass 8-to-1. Despite the disparity in shots, the Minutemen were able to keep Ohio State outside of the 18-yard box on most of their attacks and limited any dangerous scoring opportunities.

Edwards goal was set up by two shots from Big 10 Player of the Year Xavier Balc and Roger Espinoza. Balc took the first shot after slipping through the left side of the UMass defense. Simmons left his line to cut down the angle of attack and deflected the shot away. Espinoza controlled the rebound and fired in a second shot where Simmons was able to scramble to his left and make another diving deflection. The ball carried still farther to the right where Edwards was there to send a shot to the top right corner for the score despite Simmons trying to make yet another save.

UMass pressured the Ohio State defense seeking the equalizer outshooting the Buckeyes 6-to-2 in the final 29 minutes of the game, but could not score.

The 17 wins for UMass set a school record as the Minutemen celebrated their 75th anniversary of intercollegiate soccer this season. This was the second ever trip to the NCAA Tournament for UMass who is now 5-2 in NCAA play. The College Cup appearance for UMass was the first-ever for the Minutemen who were the only unseeded team to make the Final Four.

Simmons finishes the year having set career records in shutouts (23), wins (32), saves (302). His 0.79 goals against average this season also sets the UMass single-season mark.