Nov. 1, 2002

Box Score

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Jeff Deren (Chicopee, Mass.) scored two goals, including the game-winner in the 58th minute, to lead Massachusetts to a 3-2 victory in men's soccer action on Friday. The win moved UMass' record to 12-4-1, including a league-best 8-0-1 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Ptah Myers (Columbus, Ohio) scored UMass' first goal of the game at the 26:20 mark. Myers took a feed from senior Yuri Morales (Santa Cruz, Calif.) and slid it past the George Washington goalie for a 1-0 cushion. The assist gave Morales 27 for his career, which moved him into the top spot on the UMass career assist chart.

Deren then got into the act two minutes later as he took a feed from Andrew Eicher (Billerica, Mass.) Deren took a pass from Eicher in the goalie box and blasted it past the George Washington goalie for a 2-0 lead.

Deren scored the lone Minuteman goal at the 57:06 mark unassisted on a free kick. The goal was Deren's 19th of the year and gave UMass a 3-0 advantage.

The Colonials wouldn't give in and started their comeback, cutting the lead to 3-1 in the 79th minute. GWU would trim the margin to 3-2 in the 81st minute, but couldn't get the tying goal as Enzo Altomare (Derby, Conn.) made a career-high nine saves to preserve UMass' unblemished A-10 record.

The Minutemen will look to clinch the Atlantic 10 crown outright on Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. game at Richmond. The Minutemen have won 10 of their last 11 games on the year, and are ranked third in the NSCAA / adidas New England regional rankings.