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LOWELL, Mass. – Junior
Guilherme Rodrigues (Lowell, Mass.) provided the overtime heroics in the 95th minute, when his rocket from 20-yards out helped the UMass Lowell men's soccer team (5-3) defeat the Bryant Bulldogs (1-4-2), 3-2, on Wednesday night.
"I thought it was a good performance from the guys today," said Head Coach
Christian Figueroa. "Bryant's a tough team, we said it all week long in preparation and we've been on the wrong side of the result the last two years. Our guys showed a lot of character today, coming back to tie the game and having the feeling of they could win throughout the night."
Rodrigues gathered up a loose ball and fired it into the left side beating the keeper to send the team and home fans into a frenzy, celebrating the hosts second straight win.
The River Hawks had to rally late after conceding an own goal in the 74th minute to go down 2-1. Rodrigues drew a late penalty kick in the 85th minute, and
Carlos Ruiz (East Boston, Mass.) connected from the spot high and to the Chris Knaub's right.
UMass Lowell struck first on
Chase Reichenberg's (Hamburg, Germany) first career goal in the 15th minute.
Wuilito Fernandes (Praia, Cape Verde) had his shot in the six-yard box turned aside by the Bryant keeper, but the freshman was there to blast home the rebound.
The Bulldogs tied it up at 1-1 in the 55th minute after Brett Larocque received a pass in the box, beat
Austin Kroll (Baltimore, Md.) to the right and found the back of the net.
The win marked the first over Bryant in the Division I era (1-2), and UMass Lowell leads the overall series 12-10-2.
Kroll made two saves, both in the second half, and his counterpart Knaub made two as well. The River Hawks outshot Bryant 14-7, including a 5-4 shots on goal advantage. Fernandes has a game-high four shots.
The River Hawks went 3-1 on their four-game homestand, and return to the road as they take on Boston University on September 30 at 7 p.m.