By Jose Rodriguez NEFJ Correspondent NORTH ANDOVER — AJ Hairston scored a pair of touchdowns to power Merrimack College to a 24-17 victory over the University of New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon at Duane Stadium. “I thought our guys played really, really hard. As long as it took, and I told them it’s going to be a 60 minutes effort type game and we got that down,” said Merrimack head coach…
Image courtesy of UNH Athletics By Allen Lessels NEFJ Correspondent DURHAM, N.H. – Quarterback Jack O’Connell and the Stonehill College offense rolled up the offensive statistics. But the University of New Hampshire had linebacker Trevor Barry and running back Joquez Smith and mixed in some early-game magic on special teams. The combination was enough – barely – to give former Wildcat quarterback Sean Goldrich his first coaching win, 42-35, over…
The Sean Goldrich Era is just days away from officially getting started. UNH alum and the newest head coach takes over for Ricky Santos, but expectations remain high for the program. That’s what happens when the standard has been set for decades in Durham. The Wildcats don’t have to wait long to see how things go in game action, traveling to Albany for a CAA rivalry game right out of…
The more things change, the more they stay the same. New UNH head coach Sean Goldrich last played for the Wildcats in December of 2015. Now, nearly 11 years later, Goldrich steps back onto a campus that looks, sounds and feels familiar. The standard hasn’t changed either. UNH is seeking its 20th playoff appearance as a program, including back-to-back years and four out of the last five. During the first…
UNH fans woke up to some pretty stunning news on Saturday morning. Longtime head coach and former Wildcat Rock Santos is leaving to become the head coach of the Ivy League’s Penn Quakers. Santos led the Wildcats to a 37–24 overall record and a 28–12 record in the CAA over his five seasons as head coach. UNH earned NCAA FCS Playoff berths in 2022, 2024, and 2025 under Santos. In…
How do you follow up your 17th playoff appearance in the last 21 seasons? You keep adding to the culture. UNH signed nine new recruits during National Signing Day on Wednesday, with Rick Santos and his staff continuing to add to the legacy that is the Wildcats’ football program. “Our staff did an incredible job identifying, evaluating, and building relationships with this year’s class,” Santos said in a statement released…
Image courtesy of UNH Athletics Aesthetically, the UNH’s playoff game against 14th-seeded South Dakota State on Saturday was a football fans dream. With a wind chill of zero, snow falling and ice covering the field, it was what playoff football dreams are made of. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, that dream was an absolute nightmare with a 41-3 loss. UNH (8-5) was making its 17th playoff appearance in the last 21…
Image courtesy of Alex Miller By Allen Lessels NEFJ Correspondent DURHAM – They did what they had to do. Now they wait to see if that’s enough. On the second Saturday in October, the University of New Hampshire football team lost at Rhode Island, 38-27, and its record fell to 3-4 overall and 1-2 in the Coastal Athletic Association. To have any chance at qualifying for the NCAA FCS playoffs…
It sort of feels like a win-and-in situation for UNH this weekend. But, if they can beat rival Maine convincingly – much like URI did a week ago – then it should almost guarantee them a spot in the FCS playoffs. The Wildcats are 7-4, 5-2 in the ultra-competitive CAA and looking to make it 17 of the last 21 seasons in the postseason. UNH has also won four straight…
Another week, another impressive performance from most of the New England CAA teams. No. 12 URI (7-2, 5-0) remained unbeaten in the conference with a thorough beating of in-state rival Bryant (2-6, 0-4). Meanwhile, Maine (4-4, 3-1) remains red hot, winners of four straight now after beating Elon. The Black Bears are just two games behind the Rams in the win column with four weeks left and a head-to-head matchup…