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LOWELL, Mass. – Redshirt freshman Paul Beatty's (Halifax, Mass.) first-half goal in the 37th minute led the UMass Lowell men's soccer team to an 1-0 upset over Monmouth University, on Friday night to open the season.

In last season's opener, the River Hawks fell to Monmouth 5-0 in New Jersey. 

"It was good a performance, the guys put a lot of work in the last two weeks in preparation for this game, said Head Coach Christian Figueroa. "A very good Monmouth side, obviously the result was different against them last year, but the young guys we had last year took from that game. They learned from it and the experience is now putting us in a better position to start the year."

Beatty received a long pass from Wuilito Fernandes (Praia, Cape Verde) and made a move to beat the final defender and slotted the ball into the right corner of the net.

The teams played an even match, each firing 11 shots. The River Hawks outshot the Hawks 7-3 in the first half before Monmouth returned the favor with an 8-4 advantage in the second half.

Freshman Edward Venta-Yepes (Lowell, Mass.) and senior Nana Osei (Ewing, N.J.) led the hosts with two shots apiece. Daniel Aversano had a game-high four shots.Reigning America East Co-Rookie of the Year Austin Kroll (Baltimore, Md.) made three saves to record his sixth career shutout. His counterpart Eric Klenofsky stopped three shots as well.

The River Hawks stay home to take on Utah Valley at 12 p.m. on Sunday, August 30.