Sean Goldrich gets the call.

University of New Hampshire football coach Sean McDonnell announced on Wednesday that Goldrich, a redshirt freshman out of West Haven, Conn., will be the team's starting quarterback in its season opener next Thursday night at Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.

Goldrich got the nod over Andy Vailas, a sophomore out of Bedford and Bishop Guertin High School in Nashua.

“It was a tough decision,” McDonnell said. “It was a very, very close competition and it came down to a bunch of different things. Each of them has talents and can be very, very good.”

While Goldrich will start on Thursday, Vailas will get in the game, too, McDonnell said.

“Andy Vailas will get some snaps one way or another,” the coach said. “First, because he's earned it and I also think it's a good thing to get the young guys in the game,”

The decision on the starter came down to Goldrich's command of the offense, McDonnell said.

“Sean Goldrich has a good feel for everything we do,” the coach said. “He has a good understanding of when blitzes are coming and where everyone is going to be. Andy also has a good understanding. Sean does a good job of getting us into the right checks and getting things to the right people.”

Vailas said after Tuesday's final pre-season scrimmage, before the QB decision was made, that he thinks the competition at the position will be longstanding.

“I feel this competition is going to go through the entire season,” he said. “It's been good for all of us. We're all learning from each other.”

McDonnell expects senior James Brady to be ready to play against Holy Cross, but said it's unlikely he will get in the game. Brady missed most of fall camp with tendinitis in his right shoulder and has been throwing in recent days. He had a slight edge on Goldrich and Vailas before his tendinitis issues.

Goldrich had a solid Blue-White spring game for the Wildcats, completing 10 of his 15 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown. He also ran 10 times for 61 yards and had an 11-yard touchdown run.

He did not have great days passing in UNH's two scrimmages this fall, though, and threw a pair of interceptions in each outing.

“That is worrisome,” McDonnell said. “Two of them went off the hands of people, so you can look at them different ways. But any time you turn the ball over, it's worrisome.”

Goldrich went 25-4 as a starter at quarterback for Notre Dame High School in West Haven. He passed for 1,700 yards and 21 touchdowns and had one interception as a junior while leading Notre Dame to a state championship. He was All-State as a senior.

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UNH got some good news and bad news on the injury front on Wednesday.

McDonnell said an MRI on the knee of wide receiver Joey Orlando did not show any torn cartilage and he should be able to play against Holy Cross.

Orlando's knee had locked up on Monday and he sat out Tuesday's scrimmage.

McDonnell also said that Tim Farina of Plymouth, another senior wide receiver, will have surgery and will probably miss the season. Farina broke his collarbone after being tackled while making a reception in Tuesday's scrimmage.

“It's a crying shame,” McDonnell said. “He's worked extremely hard to earn playing time and he gets in there and he gets hurt. He works harder than anybody in the program.”

The bright side is that Farina does have another year of eligibility.

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Allen Lessels covers UNH football for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. He may be reached at alessels@unionleader.com.