River Hawks Earn First-Round Bye with 2-0 win at Hartford

Wednesday, November 1

West Hartford, Conn.

7PM

University of Massachusetts Lowell

9-6-1, 5-2AE

Hartford

5-10-3, 1-5-1AE

Team	1	2	Final F
UML	1	1	2
Hartford	0	0	0

Box Score (PDF)

11/1/2017 9:24:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score Box Score (PDF)

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Behind Alejandro Osorio's (Hollywood, Fla.) brace, the UMass Lowell men's soccer team (9-6-1, 5-2-0) picked up a win in the regular-season finale, 2-0, at Hartford (5-10-3, 1-5-1) on Wednesday night.

The UMass Lowell win, coupled with results around the league, sent the River Hawks to a first-round bye in the upcoming America East Championship. The quarterfinals will take place on November 4, with the semifinals on Nov. 8.

"We put in a complete performance tonight," commented Head Coach Christian Figueroa. "It was great to jump to an early lead and put the pressure on Hartford. Anytime you go on the road in this conference and can come away with three ponts is important. We put ourselves in a position to host a semifinal game in the conference tournament, which is always important but also well deserved for the team."

Osorio took less than three minutes to put the River Hawks ahead on a quick one-timed strike from inside the box, off a cross from Jakov Basic (Zagreb, Croatia).

The visitors out shot the Hawks 4-3 in the first half, but Hartford did not test Austin Kroll (Baltimore, Md.) with any of its attempts.

Osorio's second strike off the night doubled the lead in the 50th minute, as he calmly deposited the rebound off Owen Miller's (Medford, Mass.) shot into the open net.

The tallies were the sophomore's second and third of his career, all coming this season, and Miller's helper was the first point of his collegiate career. With the blank sheet, Kroll moves into a tie for second all-time with 23 shutouts, and ends the regular season with 34 career victories.

UMass Lowell continued to apply pressure but could not extend the lead any further, as the River Hawks held a 13-10 advantage in shots. Hartford did not have an attempt on net, while the guests had five.

The River Hawks will await the results of the quarterfinal matchups to see who will be coming to Cushing Field on Nov. 8. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.