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LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell women's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to Central Connecticut, Thursday night at Cushing Field.
 
With the loss, the River Hawks fall to 2-2-2 on year, while the Blue Devils improve to 1-6-0 overall. UMass Lowell finished its longest home stint of the year going 2-1 with two shut outs.
 
"I thought the game was a tale of two halves," said Head Coach Joel Bancroft. "When they went up, 1-0, with seven seconds left in the first half, it was about 'what will our response be?' In the first half we didn't play how we needed to play, but the second half was all us. I love the response that we had after they scored, but we need to find a way to put more balls in the back of the net."
 
The visitors held the slight advantage in shots, 5-4, in the first 45 minutes of action, but held a strong 4-0 advantage in corner kicks.
 
Central Connecticut carried a 1-0 lead into the half, after tacking on the games only goal in dramatic fashion. After earning a corner with less than 10 seconds left, Jennifer Cafferky headed a cross into the top left hand corner of the net on a long ball from teammate Kelly Halligan.
 
The second half favored the River Hawks, as the squad outshot their opponents, 7-3. Despite maintaining the majority of possession for the last half of action, UMass Lowell could not connect on a handful off opportunities to net the equalizer.
 
Junior midfielders Shannon Groffie (Somerset, N.J.) and Rachel Morrier (Plaistow, N.H.), along with sophomore Katelyn Vieira (Warwick, R.I.) all tallied a shot on goal, but Central Connecticut goalkeeper Nicki Turley was there to make the saves and secure her teams blank sheet.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Julia Schneider (Bridgewater, Mass.) and Turley posted three saves a piece in the contest.
 
UMass Lowell will hit the road for its next two matches, as the squad treks to Colorado for a pair of games. The River Hawks kick off their road trip with a tilt against Air Force on Sept. 16, before taking on Colorado College on Sept. 18.