October 1 vs. Binghamton (5 p.m.) – Alumni Day
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LOWELL, Mass. – The No. 19 UMass Lowell men's soccer team looks to extend its eight-game unbeaten streak into conference play, as they host Binghamton in both programs' America East opener on October 1 at 5 p.m.
River Hawk Rewind
The River Hawks topped Bryant, 1-0, on September 21 in their only game of the week, on
Ivan Blaskic's (Zagreb, Croatia) first career goal in the 76th minute.
Ivan Abramovic (Zagreb, Croatia) and
Dario Jovanovski (Zagreb, Croatia) got credited with the assists as Jovanovski's free kick was flicked to Blaskic to the back post, who completed the play with a jumping header.
Austin Kroll (Baltimore, Md.) made one save in his 22nd career win and 15th blank sheet.
Leading the Flock
Wuilito Fernandes (Praia, Cape Verde) leads the team with six goals for 12 points, while Abramovic has four goals and a team-high six assists for 14 points.
Carlos Ruiz (East Boston, Mass) is third with two goals and second on the team with three helpers. Blaskic has two assists so far in his first season as a River Hawk. In net, Kroll has allowed five goals on 72 shots, recording 19 saves and a goals against average of 0.59.
Scouting Binghamton
The Bearcats (5-2-3) have won their last two games by way of shutouts, blanking Buffalo 3-0 and Bucknell 1-0 on Sept. 24 and 27, respectively. While Binghamton is 3-0-1 at home, the squad is 2-1-2 on the road, with the only win coming back on Sept 9. Ben Ovetsky and Nikkos Psarras lead the team with three goals and one assist for seven points each, with three game-winning goals between them. Harrison Weilbacher and Charlie Novoth lead the team with three helpers apiece. Alejandro Cubillo has made nine starts between the posts, making 27 saves with a 1.03 GAA and a .730 save percentage with four shutouts.
Series History
The River Hawks hold a 3-2 series lead and are riding a two-game winning streak following last year's 1-0 victory at Binghamton. UMass Lowell has given up one goal in the three wins, outscoring the Bearcats 4-1.
Election Season
The River Hawks moved up to No. 19 in the NSCAA DI National Poll and 22 in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll. In the season's first RPI of the season, the program entered at No. 25, the highest ranking in the DI era. UMass Lowell is the lone unbeaten America East school, and the squad also finds itself the top-ranked squad in the East for the third consecutive week, according to the NSCAA Division I Regional Poll.
Playing From Ahead
Before succumbing the first goal against Brown, UMass Lowell had only trailed for 1:47 this season, coming in the first game of the season at Northeastern. From
Ben Waithe's (Plymouth, Mass.) game tying goal, the River Hawks went 452 consecutive minutes without trailing.
Saving Space in the Records
Kroll now sits fourth all-time with 22 career wins and 15 career blank sheets. With 765:26 of total playing time this season, he has moved into seventh all-time with 3,975:28 minutes in a River Hawk uniform.
And That Was Talking Soccer
Abramovic's game-winning goal from Sept. 4 earned a spot on SportsCenter's Top 10 list at number 4. The tally appeared on Fox Soccer and took home the Top Drawer Soccer Goal of the Week.
Notables
Fernandes was named the America East Player of the Week (9.12) ... Abramovic has taken home consecutive America East Rookie of the Week honors (8.29-9.6) … with five wins this season, Figueroa has reached 51 wins during his coaching career at UMass Lowell.
