LOWELL, MA: (May 4, 2007) - In the most spirited Men’s Soccer Alumni Game in recent history, the Alumni downed the current UMass Lowell squad, 7-4 under the lights of Cushing Field this past Friday night. Led by two goals each from Michael Cabral (’05) and Tim Garry (’05), the alumni ruled the day with imaginative attacking play, solid defense and the indomitable goalkeeping trio of Bobby Ritter (’06), Sean Nally (’01) and Tom Ramos (’98). Read more here...
CAMBRIDGE, MA: (May 30, 2004) The telephone rang late Saturday night. It was a typical "can you play" conversation for UMass Lowell Soccer alumni Brandon Curran ('03) and Michael Cabral ('04), but the next day's opponents were anything but typical. The pair was invited to live out their boyhood dreams, and participate in a scrimmage for the New England Revolution against the United States National Team at Harvard University. ( Photo Gallery )
In town for the Wednesday match against Honduras, U.S. Coach Bruce Arena informed New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol that he wanted to play a 45-minute scrimmage against the Revolution. As the Revs were scheduled to play the night before (a hard-fought 1-1 draw with the Metrostars), their reserves were "pressed" into duty. Brandon Curran , UMass Lowell's first-ever soccer All-American and current member of the New Hampshire Phantoms professional soccer team, has been training with the Revolution since March. "It was a bit surreal, when Jim (Phantoms General Manager Jim Dedeus) called to see if I could play against the National Team. It wasn't too difficult to answer: that has been my dream, and my goal, all along, so of course I couldn't wait to say 'yes'."
Several other Phantoms players were included with the Revolution reserves, including former team captain, all-time UML assists leader and 2004 NSCAA All-New England selection Michael Cabral , who started the scrimmage as a striker, and predictably spent a great deal of his time chasing U.S. team captain Claudio Reyna, the National Team's midfield maestro. "It was amazing, playing against these guys, literally a dream come true," said Cabral, moments after the scrimmage ended. "What a thrill."
The scrimmage ended 3-0, in the national team's favor, and proved to be a positive piece of preparation for the Wednesday match, which the U.S. won comfortably, 4-0. Brian McBride scored twice against Honduras, but spent most of his Sunday scrimmage shadowed by UMass Lowell's Brandon Curran. River Hawks Head Coach Ted Priestly noted that "knowing that Brian McBride is Brandon's favorite player, it was pretty special for us to watch Brandon mark him, especially on set pieces." However, interestingly enough, on the Revolution's one attacking corner, it was McBride who chose to match up and defend Curran.
Priestly was impressed with the overall competitive level of the scrimmage, and both the attacking execution and technical proficiency of the U.S. team, but he was also pleased by what he saw from his two former River Hawks. "Brandon and Michael waited until after the match to be "fans" of the game. They approached the day as the professionals that they are, and performed very well, given the environment. They fit into the level of play very well."
Did Priestly give either player any advice prior to the game? "Nothing too different from most games: play with pride, do your best, stick to the basics, enjoy yourselves, and let everything flow from there. Just do what got you here." Both Curran and Cabral did just that, and as a result, they enjoyed a day that they will never, ever forget.
Alumni News
April 2004