Nov. 1, 2011

Box Score

Junior forward Julia Donigian (Wakefield, Mass.) struck the lone River Hawk tally as the club suffered a 2-1 loss to Southern New Hampshire in the opening round of the Northeast-10 Women's Soccer Championship on Tuesday in North Andover, MA.

UMass Lowell falls to 11-5-2 on the year and must await Monday's NCAA Selection Show as a NCAA Tournament berth hangs in the balance. The Penmen bolstered their resume, improving to 10-7-2 on the campaign as they advance in the conference playoffs.

"Southern New Hampshire played well and wanted it more," said head coach Elie Monteiro. "All the credit today goes to them."

The Penmen grabbed the match's first lead in the ninth minute off the foot of Emily Donahue (Bristol, R.I.). Ariel Teixeira (Warren, R.I.) tapped the ball over to Donahue who ripped a shot from 30 yards out that drifted over the head of sophomore goalkeeper Jill Carlson (Lexington, Mass.).

The River Hawks leveled the score at 18:47 as Donigian knocked in a loose rebound for her third goal of the year. Freshman Brittany Russo (Danvers, Mass.) carried down the far wing and hit goalkeeper Maggie Weldon (Manchester, N.H.) with a shot that was saved, but bounced free into the box. Donigian quickly put the ball into the mesh before Weldon could recover her footing, knotting the score at 1-1.

Despite an even pace of play, Southern New Hampshire squeezed another shot through in the 42nd minute to take a 2-1 lead heading into the half. Teixeira carried into the box, dribbled around a defender and uncorked a shot from the left side that found its way past Carlson.

The second half played to a draw with UMass Lowell's best chance to score coming in the 86th minute. Russo collected the ball in the box, shook a defender and put a shot on net that Weldon was in perfect position to save.

Unwilling to surrender, the River Hawks drew a corner in the match's final moments, hastily getting off the kick as time expired.

UMass Lowell's Carlson finished with two saves as she fell to 6-4-1 on the year. The Penmen's Weldon picked up two saves as well, improving to 4-4-1. The River Hawks were outshot 11-7, but out-cornered Southern New Hampshire, 4-1.