Mbuthia and Velez Net Braces as Minutemen Cruise to 5-2 Victory

AMHERST, Mass. -- Massachusetts (2-0-1) defended home territory for the second-consecutive time to open the season, piling on five goals en route to a 5-2 win over Quinnipiac (0-2-0) on Thursday evening.

Shane Velez and JP Mbuthia entered a groove offensively as both tallied two goals and one assist each. Ivan Vrh netted his first of the season, also adding on an assist to Velez. Freshman Thomas Wadas tacked on his seond assist of the early campaign setting up Vrh for a chip-in goal.

Breaking Down The Action

The Minutemen opened action with three shots and three corners in the first 12 minutes of game time as a Matt Cence attempt forced Amilio Balderrama to make his first save of the day.
JP Mbuthia found net shortly after, using exceptional touch around the net off a setup by Shane Velez to weave by the defense and tally the first score of the game.
Ivan Vrh would double the Massachusetts lead in the 32nd minute, lofting a one-touch chip into the back of the net following a beautiful ball by Thomas Wadas.
Quinnipiac would earn two corner kicks as the first half wound down as the Minutemen defense prevented any scoring chances.
UMass entered the halftime break up 2-0.
Shortly after play resumed, Velez netted a shot from outside of the box in the 46th minute to increase the lead to 3-0.
Velez would double up on long-range attempts in the 54th minute, sinking a finesse shot to the right-side of the goal off an assist by Mbuthia to make it a 4-0 tally.
Action became increasingly physical as the game continued, with both sides trading yellow carts in the next seven minutes of clock.
Mbuthia concluded his busy day with an insurance penalty kick goal in the 74th minute to give UMass a 5-0 advantage.
The Bobcats would answer with a penalty kick goal of their own just 25 seconds later, as Luke Schierenbeck spoiled the 73+-minute Massachusetts shutout.
Massachusetts surrendered a consolation goal in the 87th minute as Schierenbeck netted his second of the contest.
Quinnipiac's last-second surge proved to be too little, too late as UMass closed out full-time with the 5-2 victory.

Up Next
UMass hosts Stonehill on Sept. 1 for a Labor Day matchup at Rudd Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. with action streaming live on Summit League Network.

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