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LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell men's soccer team (5-5-0, 0-1-0) fell in its conference opener to the New Hampshire Wildcats (7-0-2, 1-0-0), 3-1, on Saturday afternoon.
"UNH is a tough, well organized, hard working team," said Head Coach
Christian Figueroa. "In the end it came down to us, we've got our game plan and it wasn't executed. It shows we have a long way to go."
The Wildcats wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, striking in the fifth minute when Chris Wingate's free kick was deflected off the post and A.J. Albers was in the right position to slot the ball into the net.
UMass Lowell struck back in the 15th minute when
Guilherme Rodrigues (Lowell, Mass.) sent in a brilliant cross into the six-yard box to
Jay Marchand's (North Andover, Mass.) head. Marchand's header lofted over the keeper to
Wuilito Fernandes who tallied his third goal of the season into the open net.
New Hampshire outshot the River Hawks 10-1 in the first half, with
Austin Kroll (Baltimore, Md.) making four saves.
Both teams exchanged scoring opportunities late into the second half, but each team's backline played strong, having the opportunities result in blocked shots and simple saves. Chris Arling and
Edward Venta-Yepes (Lowell, Mass.) had the better chances, each having their shots come within inches of scoring for their teams in the 63rd and 72nd minutes, respectively.
The Wildcats did break through in the 77th minute when Arling's cross was volleyed home by Chris Wingate for the 2-1 advantage. Connor Pauley made it 3-1 in the 90th minute, when Kroll came out to challenge the ball, and Pauley got around him.
New Hampshire outshot the hosts 22-4, with eight directed on target. Kroll made five saves, and Ryan Carpenter made one save for the Wildcats.
Arling registered a game-high six shots, and Wingate had a game-high two shots on goal.
The River Hawks are back in action, taking on the Binghamton Bearcats for their first America East road game of the year, on October 10 at 6 p.m.
