2017 UMass Minutemen soccer team

The 2017 UMass Minutemen soccer team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst during the 2017 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the program's 88th season in existence, and their 31st in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The Minutemen were led by fourth-year head coach, Fran O'Leary.

2017 UMass Minutemen men's soccer
Atlantic 10 Regular Season Champions Atlantic 10 Tournament Champions
NCAA Tournament, First Round
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
U. Soc. Coaches poll	No. 24
2017 record	15–4–3 (6–1–1 A-10)
Head coach	Fran O'Leary (4th season)
Assistant coaches	Michael Mordocco (3rd season) Fred Balbino (4th season) Ben Brewster (1st season)
Home stadium	Rudd Field

2017 Atlantic 10 Conference men's soccer standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
UMass ‡	6	–	1	–	1			15	–	4	–	3
VCU +	6	–	2	–	0			13	–	7	–	0
George Washington	6	–	2	–	0			9	–	7	–	2
Dayton	6	–	2	–	0			9	–	8	–	2
No. 11 Fordham +	5	–	2	–	1			14	–	6	–	3
Rhode Island	4	–	3	–	1			10	–	6	–	3
St. Bonaventure	4	–	4	–	0			8	–	9	–	2
Saint Louis	4	–	4	–	0			7	–	9	–	1
Davidson	3	–	4	–	1			8	–	7	–	2
LaSalle	3	–	5	–	0			8	–	9	–	1
Saint Joseph's	1	–	6	–	1			3	–	11	–	4
Duquesne	1	–	7	–	0			3	–	13	–	1
George Mason	0	–	7	–	1			5	–	9	–	2
‡ – 2017 Atlantic 10 Tournament champion + – Invited to the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship As of December 13, 2017; Rankings from United Soccer Coaches

The season proved to be one of the more successful seasons for the Minutemen, as they qualified for the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship for the first time since 2008, and posted their first winning overall record since 2008. The Minutemen won their sixth Atlantic 10 Regular Season championship, and completed the conference double by winning their third ever Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Tournament. It was the program's first time to win both the regular season and tournament in the same season. At the end of the regular season, UMass was ranked in the United Soccer Coaches poll at 24, making it the first time in a decade the Minutemen earned national rankings.

The Minutemen earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, where they hosted Colgate. Their spell in the NCAA Tournament was short-lived, as they fell 2–0 to the Raiders at home.

Roster

Updated November 24, 2017[1]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 0 GK  USA John Black 1 GK  USA Christian Curucci 2 DF  USA Jordan Howard 3 MF  USA Matthew Mooney 4 DF  GER Konrad Gorich 5 MF  ENG Connor O'Dwyer 6 MF  USA Davis Smith 7 FW  USA Alex Desantis 8 DF  USA Jared McCleary 9 FW  AUS Jack Fulton 11 MF  USA Jaime Rosiello 12 MF  USA Henry Steinkamp 13 DF  USA Casey Hamill 14 FW  GRE Andronikos Keklikoglou

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 DF  USA Dylan Cranmer 16 DF  FRA Clement Benhaddouche 17 FW  USA Mike Rita 18 MF  USA Jackson Fotter 19 DF  USA Brandon Merklin 20 MF  USA Stephen Ravazzoli 21 FW  USA Kevin Boino 23 MF  GHA Samuel Asamoah 25 MF  GHA Richard Amoako 26 MF  USA Christian Labeck 27 DF  USA Eli Cronin 28 DF  USA Ryan Saul 29 DF  USA Luke Ryan 30 GK  USA Bardia Asefnia

Schedule

Date Time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (Attendance) City, State
Preseason
08/13/2017* 2:00 p.m.		at Northeastern			Parsons Field Brookline, MA
08/19/2017* 4:00 p.m.		Assumption (MA)	W 3–0		Rudd Field Amherst, MA
Non-conference regular season
08/25/2017* 4:00 p.m.		St. Francis Brooklyn	W 2–1	1–0–0	Rudd Field (326) Amherst, MA
08/27/2017* 4:00 p.m.		Sacred Heart	W 3–0	2–0–0	Rudd Field (362) Amherst, MA
09/01/2017* 4:00 p.m.		Columbia	T 1–1 ^2OT	2–0–1	Rudd Field (345) Amherst, MA
09/05/2017* 7:25 p.m.		at No. 24 New Hampshire	L 0–3	2–1–1	Wildcat Stadium (472) Durham, NH
09/09/2017* 1:00 p.m.		Boston University	W 1–0	3–1–1	Rudd Field (407) Amherst, MA
09/12/2017* 7:00 p.m.		at Dartmouth	L 0–1	3–2–1	Burnham Field (974) Hanover, NH
09/16/2017* 0:00 p.m.		Colgate	W 2–1	4–2–1	Rudd Field (506) Amherst, MA
09/19/2017* 7:00 p.m.		at Central Connecticut	T 1–1 ^2OT	4–2–2	CCSU Soccer Field (233) New Britain, CT
09/23/2017* 1:00 p.m.		Hartford	W 3–0	5–2–2	Rudd Field (461) Amherst, MA
Conference regular season
09/30/2017 8:00 p.m.		at Saint Louis	W 3–1	6–2–2 (1–0–0)	Hermann Stadium (461) St. Louis, MO
10/03/2017* 4:00 p.m.		Vermont	W 2–1	7–2–2	Rudd Field (247) Amherst, MA
10/07/2017 12:00 p.m.		Duquesne	W 5–0	8–2–2 (2–0–0)	Rudd Field (507) Amherst, MA
10/11/2017 7:00 p.m.		at Saint Joseph's	T 2–2 ^2OT	8–2–3 (2–0–1)	Sweeney Field (154) Philadelphia, PA
10/14/2017 1:00 p.m.		La Salle	W 2–0	9–2–3 (3–0–1)	Rudd Field (614) Amherst, MA
10/18/2017 3:00 p.m.		Rhode Island	W 2–1 ^OT	10–2–3 (4–0–1)	Rudd Field (255) Amherst, MA
10/21/2017 7:00 p.m.		at Dayton	W 3–2	11–2–3 (5–0–1)	Baujan Field (361) Dayton, OH
10/28/2017 0:00 p.m.		at George Mason	W 4–1	12–2–3 (6–0–1)	George Mason Stadium (479) Fairfax, VA
11/01/2017 2:00 p.m.	No. 24	Fordham	L 2–3	12–3–3 (6–1–1)	Rudd Field (463) Amherst, MA
Atlantic 10 Tournament
11/05/2017* 0:00 p.m.	(1) No. 25	(8) Saint Louis Quarterfinals	W 1–0	13–3–3	Rudd Field (605) Amherst, MA
11/10/2017 0:00 p.m.	(1) No. 25	vs. (5) Fordham Semifinals	W 1–0	14–3–3	Baujan Field (164) Dayton, OH
11/12/2017 0:00 p.m.	(1) No. 25	vs. (2) No. 24 VCU A10 Championship	W 3–1	15–3–3	Baujan Field (147) Dayton, OH
NCAA Tournament
11/16/2017* 1:00 p.m.	No. 24	Colgate First Round	L 0–2	15–4–3	Rudd Field (722) Amherst, MA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References

1. "2017 Men's Soccer Roster". umassathletics.com. University of Massachusetts Amherst Athletics. Retrieved November 24, 2017.