LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell men's soccer team (8-6-1, 4-2-0) avenged its only loss from last season, with a 1-0 double overtime win to knock off No. 17 New Hampshire (11-2-3, 4-2-0), 1-0, Saturday night at Cushing Field on Senior Night.
Ivan Blaskic (Zagreb, Croatia) sent in the game-winning goal in the 107th minute as he was falling onto his back off a scramble in front of the Wildcat net, as the River Hawks extended their home unbeaten streak to 15 games and picked up the first win over a ranked opponent in the Division I era.
"UNH has had a great year and they are a very tough team to play against," commented Head Coach
Christian Figueroa. "Our guys showed a lot of character tonight and they really wanted the result. They knew how much it meant to get out of here with three points and put ourselves in a good position going into the last game of the season. It was a hard fought game and they deserve it."
The game-clinching sequence started with a
Jakov Basic (Zagreb, Croatia) corner that resulted in two blocked shots and a ball off the crossbar, before Blaskic was able to send the Lowell crowd into a frenzy.
UMass Lowell's victory moved the River Hawks into a tie for second place in the America East standings, as the league heads into the final week of the regular season.
The hosts came out of the first half with a 5-4 shot advantage, but the Wildcats had the only two shots on target, but none tested
Austin Kroll (Baltimore, Md.), as the senior was able to stop both attempts.
New Hampshire was able to outshoot the hosts 10-1 in the second 45 minutes, and had four of their six corners, but the UMass Lowell defense held strong and Kroll made the only save of the half. The Wildcats finished the game with a 16-10 advantage in shots, as the River Hawks had five in extra time.
Neither team could generate much offense in the first overtime, and the Wildcats came within inches of picking up the win in the opening minutes of the second extra period but Robin Schmidt's shot just went wide.
The River Hawks finish the regular-season with a 6-0-1 record at home, and will head to Hartford for the finale on November 1 at 7 p.m.
