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LOWELL, Mass. –  Freshman Sinead O'Callaghan (Braintree, Mass.) scored late in the second half to break a 1-1 tie and propel UMass Lowell women's soccer to a 3-1 victory over Stony Brook in the America East Conference opener for both teams, on a sunny Sunday afternoon at the Cushing Field Complex.

"It felt awesome," said O'Callaghan.  "I glad I got my foot on it, I'm glad it went in."

The win was the third for the River Hawks in front of the home crowd and upped the team's record to 4-6-0 overall and 1-0-0 in conference play.  Stony Brook falls to 3-7-0 / 0-1-0.  The Seawolves are undefeated at home and winless on the road.  It also avenges a 1-0 UMass Lowell loss at Stony Brook a year ago.

"I think that's a huge win especially because we were at home," said Head coach Joel Bancroft.  "Stony Brook has a wonderful tradition, they won the regular season last year, so that's a very big win for a very young club.

The Callaghan goal came off a set play, a corner kick by freshman Shannon Groffie (Toms River, N.J.)  She drove a low line drive from the left corner and O'Callaghan, a center back making a run toward the short side post, got her left foot on the ball and drilled it into the back of the net.

"You make a run toward the post and try to cut off the ball before it can get to the keeper," said O' Callaghan.  "It was a strong touch and I didn't think there was any way the keeper was going to get it."
 
The goal was the first for the center back and it took a while to sink in.

"I didn't process it through my head that it was a goal," said O'Callaghan, "until my teammates were around me celebrating."

The River Hawks got all the insurance they needed in the 85th minute when senior Brittany Russo (Danvers, Mass.) was sent in alone on a breakaway by a terrific pass from Groffie.  Russo popped the ball over the keepers head and into the net for a 3-1 lead.  Groffie was credited with her second assist of the afternoon.

"(Russo's) been pressing, but her work rate has never lessened," said Bancroft.  "We knew it was just a matter of time and what a day to get on the board."

The two late goals allowed the River Hawks and their faithful to exhale after 75-plus minutes of stalemate soccer.  It had been 1-1 at the half and neither team had seemed ready to blink.

In a sport known for defense, both teams appeared to take an aggressive uptempo approach in the first half and the result was a couple of goals early, one on each side of the ledger.  The River Hawks struck first when senior Emily Bracken (Bridgewater, Mass.) redirected a pass from sophomore Taylor Chianese into the right corner of the Seawolves net.  The goal was Bracken's second of the year and came in the third minute of play.

"We had a great start," said Bancroft.  "Scoring a goal less than five-minutes into a match, a conference game, is exactly how we wanted to start."

The visitors responded in the ninth minute of play; sophomore Raven Edwards found the back of the net out of a scramble in front, the shot going high into the goal above the reach of the goalkeeper.

Statistically the game was nearly even.  Stony Brook outshot UMass Lowell 13-12, but the home team was better at hitting the target, 8-5.  The River Hawks also had an edge in corner kicks, 4-3.

Senior goalkeeper Jane Hatzikonstantis (Tewksbury, Mass.) had four saves. n Ashley Castanio had five.

The River Hawks, after three straight at home, return to action and to the road Thursday, October 2 at 6:00 P.M., with another America East match up when they visit Hartford. 


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