HAMDEN, Conn. – A late equalizer stopped the UMass Lowell men's soccer team from picking up its second consecutive win to start the season, as Quinnipiac held on to earn a 1-1 tie on Monday afternoon.
After a scoreless first half,
Ivan Abramovic (Zagreb, Croatia) put the River Hawks (1-0-1) on top in the 56th minute with a header off of
Franky Martinez's (Englewood, N.J.) long cross.
The hosts would not be held off the board as Eamon Whelan's header deflected off the post and found the back of the net in the 83rd minutes. The tally came minutes after the Bobcats (0-1-1) had an opportunity that hit the post and back into the arms of
Zach Rowell (Haverhill, Mass).
"I thought we were unfortunate to not come out with three points today," remarked Head Coach
Christian Figueroa. "We saw a lot of positives in today's game and created very good opportunities. Now we have to take the next step and put a full 90 minutes together."
Abramovic had a chance for the win after getting fouled on clear breakaway just outside the box with six seconds left, but his free kick could not avoid the defensive wall.
UMass Lowell outshot Quinnipiac, 25-13, including a 14-3 advantage in shots on target. Eleven of the visitors' chances came in the extra periods, eight of which forced Chrys Iakovidis to make the stop.
In the first three minutes of the opening overtime period,
Renato Kauzlaric (Zagreb, Croatia), Abramovic and
Jakov Basic (Zagreb, Croatia) all had opportunities that just went wide of the net.
Iakovidis made 13 stops for the hosts, while Rowell made a pair of saves in regulation.
The River Hawks next take the field at Boston University on August 31 at 7 p.m.
