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LOWELL, Mass. – Two second half goals proved to be the difference Marist College defeated UMass Lowell, 2-1, in a non-conference match on a muggy Labor Day Afternoon at the Cushing Field Complex.

"The good news is that in the last three games we've generated a lot of offense, enough to win games," said UMass Lowell Head Coach Joel Bancroft.  "Now it's just a matter of capitalizing."

The loss drops the River Hawks back to the .500 mark at 2-2-0.  Marist evens its record at 1-1-0.

UMass Lowell was frustrated by missed opportunities and miscommunications.  The River Hawks outshot Marist, 12-10 (8-3 in the second half) and had a 9-5 advantage in corners.  They also clanked a couple of shots off the post.

"When you're up 1-0 and you generate one, two, three opportunities and you don't finish, you let the other team hang around," said Bancroft.  "If we'd scored, it would have been a different result.  we have to take ownership of that."

Miscommunication proved to be a decisive factor in the outcome.  Marist broke the 1-1 tie in the 81st minute on a corner kick.  The ball went off of UMass Lowell senior goalkeeper Jane Hatzikonstantis (Tewksbury, Mass.) and into the net after what appeared to be confusion over who was going to play the ball.

The visitors had tied the game in the 51st minute, Amanda Epstein controlled a loose ball in the box and booted it into the right corner of the net.

In a hard fought, at times physical, first half Marist had a shooting edge (7-4) but the River Hawks had the only marker.  Sophomore Taylor Chianese (Chepachet, R.I.) found the twine, in the 20th minute, with a right foot shot inside the right post.  The scoring opportunity had been set in motion by a pass from freshman Shannon Groffie (Toms River, N.J.).  Chianese beat a defender to the ball and did the rest on her own beating Red Foxes goalkeeper Andrea Wicks who'd come toward the shooter in a futile attempt to smother the shot.

"She's very tidy in the box," said Bancroft.  "She has a very clean touch and she just doesn't get nervous in one-on-one situations."

Hatzikonstantis made two saves.  Wicks tending to the Marist net made four.

The River Hawks return to action Friday, September 5th at 3 P.M., when they battle Syracuse in the opening round of the Colgate Nike Classic in Hamilton, N.Y.  UMass Lowell faces the host school, Colgate, on Sunday.