Friday, August 28 vs. Monmouth (7 p.m.)
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Twitter: @RiverHawkMSoc @RiverHawkNation

Sunday, August 30 vs. Utah Valley (12 p.m.)
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Twitter: @RiverHawkMSoc @RiverHawkNation

LOWELL, Mass. – Following an exciting 2014 season in which Head Coach Christian Figueroa saw his UMass Lowell men's soccer team in the fight for the America East regular-season championship, the team mentality is to keep on improving and finish the job.

"We're always looking for improvement, I think we want to build on the strong finish last year," said Figueroa. "A third place finish is great for the group, but I want to improve on that, and I think the guys want to do a better job in our non-conference games. We have a strong early schedule, so it will be a good challenge for us leading up to league play."

The River Hawks finished 8-9-1 and 4-2-1 in the conference for a third place finish. Coming into their third season of Division I play, the staff and team can see the potential at hand with the group.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

In order to keep the team focused on its goals, Figueroa notes that with the short season it's about staying prepared and keeping healthy, along with maintaining team management.

"Preparation is going to be important for them. We do have a handful of those non-conference games that will help us prepare for the conference, which is tough, so we do want to try to win those games, try to find a few things that might surprise us along the way. But, preparation will be key, along with team management and keeping the guys healthy along the way. It's a short season, two games per week, so we just want to make sure they stay healthy."

LEADERSHIP

Earlier in the offseason, Figueroa named juniors Wuilito Fernandes (Praia, Cape Verde), Eric Martin (Danvers, Mass.) and Carlos Ruiz (East Boston, Mass.) captains.

"I couldn't be happier with that leadership core that we have," explained Figueroa. "A lot of returning guys and the three captains have done an outstanding job through their different personalities. They've done a good job here in the last couple years during the transition, so we feel very confident with that group to take the young guys under their wings."

THE INCOMERS

Figueroa and his staff have brought in an incoming class of seven freshman and two sophomores, coming from as close as Lowell and as far away as Germany.

"We're excited with the new class. We've got a new group and a lot of different positions. We bring all of these guys in every year expecting them to have an impact with us right away, whether it's a little bit longer, we feel theses guys can have an impact on the team with the others. We're excited to get them mixed in right away."

EYE ON THE RETURNERS

Fernandes and Ruiz represent the River Hawks' top returning scorers, as Fernandes led the team with five goals and two assists for 12 points last season, and Ruiz added three goals and a team-high three assists.

Both players are coming off of America East All-Conference First Team nods, and Fernandes comes into the season being named to the 2015 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, the most prestigious award in college soccer.

Austin Kroll (Baltimore, Md.) is looking to build off his impressive freshman campaign in net for UMass Lowell, in which he was named America East Co-Rookie of the Year. Federico Ferre (Waltham, Mass.), Joseph Conti (Annapolis, Md.) joined Kroll on the All-Rookie Team.

Jay Marchand (North Andover, Mass.), Nana Osei (Ewing, N.J.), Augusto Trento (Leominster, Mass.) and Abel Wasswa (Malden, Mass.) are all returning for their senior seasons.

THE OPPONENTS

Including America East foe UMBC, a College Cup semifinalist, the River Hawks will take the field against four teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season, Joining the Retrievers were Monmouth, Hartwick and St. Francis Brooklyn.

"There are some NCAA teams on that schedule and teams that were very close to making the NCAA Tournament," said Figueroa. "I can start naming them off, but all we know is that we're looking forward to our first game against Monmouth, which will be a very tough one for us. Again, an NCAA team last year, and I'm sure the guys want to get off to a good start to the season, so that right now is our focus first game."

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE

The River Hawks will play nine games (6 non-conference, 3 conference) on the turf of Cushing Field this season, up from the eight from last season.

"It's very important when you get to play at home in front of your home fans, that crowd just lifts you," concluded Figueroa. "We're fortunate enough to have a good atmosphere at all of our home games here at Cushing Field. So, it's very imperative for our guys to come out here and play well in front of the home fans and to win those games. And we have a good, tough schedule at home against some quality teams, against both nonconference and conference opponents. So we want to make sure that we take advantage of playing those games at home."