LOWELL, Mass. – For the second time in 11 days, the UMass Lowell men's soccer team (10-6-1) knocked off the No. 21 New Hampshire Wildcats (12-3-4), as the River Hawks advanced to their first ever America East Championship game with tonight's 2-1 semifinal victory at Cushing Field.
The hosts built up a 2-0 lead after 75 minutes, but 81 seconds later the Wildcats drew within one to make a tense environment for the final 16 minutes.
"I thought it was an exciting game," remarked Head Coach
Christian Figueroa. "UNH is a very tough team and you can why they've done so well this year and certainly a NCAA Tournament team. It was a great character performance from our guys, to go up 2-0 then concede but hold on for the win. It was a great display of character and heart from our guys."
Four of the five Croatians on the River Hawks factored into the scoring, as
Ivan Blaskic (Zagreb, Croatia) and
Ivan Abramovic (Zagreb, Croatia) recorded both tallies, coming off assists from
Dario Jovanovski (Zagreb, Croatia) and
Roko Prsa (Sisak, Croatia), respectively.
Blaskic continued to torment the Wildcats as the back scored his second goal against New Hampshire in as many matchups, as he headed home the contest's opening score in the 26th minute.
The sophomore was in perfect position to control Jovanovski's lofting free kick, and sent the ball across the box into the lower corner for his fourth goal of the season.
New Hampshire came back down the field just over a minute later and had an opportunity to equalize, but at the top of the box
Austin Kroll (Baltimore, Md.) made a sprawling save. Less than a minute later, Kroll once again kept the visitors off the board after another diving save.
In the 75th minute, Abramovic doubled the advantage after gathering a Prsa pass just inside the box and fired a shot that deflected off the keeper's arm and found the back of the net from 12 yards out.
Willis Griffith scored UNH's lone goal of the night on a header in front to trim the deficit, but the River Hawks played the possession game to drain the clock and earn the program's first conference championship berth in their first year of eligibility.
The hosts outshot New Hampshire, 13-8, including a 5-4 shots on goal advantage. Kroll made three saves to earn his 36th career win, moving into a tie for second all-time.
UMass Lowell will look to earn the America East's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, as the team hosts the No. 4 seed UAlbany on November 12 at 2 p.m.
