Oct. 17, 2009

Box Score

Audio Recap - The River Hawk Report

Senior goalkeeper Jamie Gillis (North Billerica, MA) eclipsed the NCAA Division II record for consecutive shutout minutes as No. 19 UMass Lowell defeated Southern Connecticut State University, 3-0, Saturday afternoon in a women’s soccer clash at Cushing Field.

Gillis, who had two saves on the day, entered the match with 1,142 straight minutes without conceding a goal and set the new record in the 51st minute of play. The record surpassed the previous mark of 1,192 minutes achieved by Nikki Kalavitis of Lynn University during the 1997 season.

The victory extended UMass Lowell’s unbeaten streak to 13 matches (10-0-3), which includes 12 straight shutouts. The last time the River Hawks conceded a goal was in the 13th minute of a 3-1 victory at Stonehill on Sept. 9.

“I guess it’s pretty cool. I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates. I haven’t had to make too many saves,” Gillis noted afterward. “Our defense has been playing together for a while and they’ve done a good job of getting in the way. Even our forwards have been doing a great job at getting back and defending.”

The River Hawks’ 12th consecutive clean sheet of the season is tied for the third-highest single season total in NCAA Division II history with Lynn University (12 in 1997) and behind Franklin Pierce (13 in 1994; 15 in 1995).

“This is the biggest thing to happen to an individual player since I’ve been here,” said UML head coach Elie Monteiro, in his eighth season. “The thing that separates Jamie from the other goalkeepers who have had success in the NE-10 is that her attitude has never changed. She continues to want to get better and to want her teammates to get better.

“The entire team has had a hand in this,” Monteiro added. “It’s been an entire group effort and they should all be very proud.”

UMass Lowell improved to 11-2-3 overall and 10-1-2 in the NE-10 and enjoys a seven-day hiatus until visiting conference leader Saint Rose, ranked No. 2 in the latest NSCAA Division II Poll, next Saturday at 1:00.

Southern Connecticut slipped to 7-8-0 overall and 4-8-0 in the NE-10 and hosts American International Tuesday at 7:00.

Gillis’ milestone somewhat overshadowed a stellar effort by senior F Kelly Soper (Auburn, MA), who came off the bench to set up UMass Lowell’s second goal and score the third.

Sophomore F Kaitlyn McHugh (Winchester, MA) opened the scoring in the 38th minute when senior D Colleen Fitzpatrick (Tewksbury, MA) crossed from the right flank, enabling McHugh to head inside the far post.

Junior F Brianne Bozzella (Wilmington, MA) doubled UMass Lowell’s lead in the 54th. Sophomore M Maddy Bissaillon (Merrimac, MA) headed to Soper, whose flick-on released Bozzella on a breakaway, which she tucked into the low left corner.

The River Hawks continued to attack when, in the 66th, Bozzella was felled in the box, prompting the official to point to the penalty spot. Soper slotted her attempt just inside the left post, underneath sophomore G Olivia Heffernan (Wallingford, CT), who had entered the match a minute earlier and guessed right.

UMass Lowell outshot the Owls 18-4 overall and 9-2 on target. Heffernan had one save for Southern Connecticut while starter Katie DiDio (Vernon, CT) had five saves.