Nov. 1, 2009

Box Score

Audio Recap - The River Hawk Report - November 2, 2009

Senior F Kelly Soper (Auburn, MA) broke a scoreless drought in the 62nd minute to lead No. 3-seeded UMass Lowell over No. 6 Stonehill Sunday afternoon in the Northeast-10 Conference Women’s Soccer Tournament Quarterfinal at Cushing Field.

With the victory, the River Hawks (12-4-2) visit No. 2 Franklin Pierce Thursday (gametime to be announced) in the semifinal. Franklin Pierce defeated No. 7 Saint Anselm, 3-0 while No. 4 Merrimack and No. 5 Adelphi played to a 1-1 deadlock before Merrimack prevailed, 5-4 on penalty kicks.

No. 1 Saint Rose was a 1-0 winner over No. 8 New Haven and will host Merrimack Thursday. The NE-10 Championship is slated for Sunday at 1:00 at the highest seed.

The victory also matched UMass Lowell’s school record for wins in a single season (12, originally set in 2005).

For Stonehill (10-8-1), the loss ended a seven-match unbeaten streak.

The shutout was the 13th of the season for UMass Lowell and 37th career clean sheet for senior G Jamie Gillis (North Billerica, MA), both perpetual school records. Gillis had three saves while sophomore Sarah Hickey (Lee, MA) did well to stop six shots.

Soper scored the timely winner at a time when Stonehill’s chances began to mount. The River Hawks owned the run of play throughout the first half and roughly 10 minutes into the second until the Skyhawks began to find their form and create several chances.

On a counterattack, Soper received a pass from senior D Jenna McIntosh (Johnstown, NY) down the left channel, split two defenders and slotted inside the far post.

UMass Lowell outshot the Skyhawks 20-9 overall and 7-3 on frame. In the first half, the River Hawks had a 12-1 advantage on shots and nearly opened the scoring in the 16th minute when junior M Ella Merullo (Wakefield, MA) crossed to freshman F Jenna Costa (North Attleboro, MA), who turned nicely but fired straight to Hickey.

In the 27th, sophomore M Erin Fleury (Princeton, MA) possessed a clearance outside the 18-yard box and fired a volley to the top right 90, which Hickey parried out of play.