Box Score (PDF)

BURLINGTON, Vt. – The UMass Lowell men's soccer team notched its first win of the season, defeating St. Francis Brooklyn 3-1 at the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Windjammer Classic on Friday afternoon.

"It was good for the boys to get it over with, it's a long season and now they can look forward to adding more to the win column", Head Coach Christian Figueroa remarked after the game. 

 

Facing a one goal deficit just nine minutes into the action, the River Hawks (1-2-0 overall) stormed back by scoring three unanswered before the half. Sophomore Wuilito Fernandes (Praia, Cape Verde) tied the game at one in the 12th minute with a header off a corner-kick from Carlos Ruiz (East Boston, Mass.). Fernandes got his head above the defenders and snuck the ball under the crossbar. 

Figueroa was impressed with his young team's fight and resolve after giving up the early goal, "We showed good attitude, it was a tough goal to allow, both when and how it happened. The boys held strong and stuck to the gameplan and it obviously showed."

 

Senior captain Homero Morais (Somerville, Mass.) scored the go-ahead goal with a rocket from the 18-yard box in the 31st minute. Sophomore Guilherme Rodrigues (Lowell, Mass.) gathered the ball just over midfield and sent it in to Morais who let the blast go into the upper corner. Ruiz scored on a penalty kick to conclude the scoring in the 44th minute. 

 

Freshman goalkeeper Austin Kroll (Baltimore, Md.) stopped four shots, all in the second half, to earn his first collegiate win. St. Francis Brooklyn's keeper only made one save. 

The Terriers outshot UMass Lowell 9-8, and both teams took six corners. 

With the next chance for a win coming up on Sunday, Figueroa added. "It's important to stay fresh and to keep our levels up. We need to come out with the same intensity we did today."

 

The River Hawks will be back in action on Sunday, September 7 at 11 a.m. when they take on La Salle.