LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell men's soccer team (4-9-1, 3-3 America East) put together an impressive showing on Saturday afternoon, defeating Hartford (4-9-3, 2-5-0 AE), 6-0.
 
Freshman Kai McLoughlin (Dural, New South Wales) scored three of the River Hawks' four first-half goals, earning his first career hat trick. Setting up the finishes, sophomore forward Reziq Banihani (Irbid, Jordan) tallied all three assists. UMass Lowell dominated possession throughout the match, as the defense did not allow a Hartford shot until the 55th minute.
 
"We talked about being able to start fast, but not take our foot off the gas," said Head Coach Christian Figueroa. "Getting those first few goals early on really set the tempo, but really happy to get the shutout. It's been a growing process for the whole group, trying to find their identity in terms of the attack. I thought we had a really good week in training this past week and I give them a lot of credit being able to respond."
 
UMass Lowell got on the board just two minutes into action thanks to a score by Guillermo Francés Poquet (Enguera, Valenica) after he received a dump off pass from Banihani in tight to the net. Not long after in the 13th, a through ball sent by junior midfielder Alessandro Marongiu (Villa San Pietro, Italy) set up Banihani for another assist on the first of McLaughlin's goals.
 
McLaughlin would follow up by jumping on offensive rebounds to tuck in two more in the 22nd and 32nd minutes to earn his hat trick and put UMass Lowell up, 4-0, going into halftime.
 
The River Hawks continued to dominate possession, outshooting Hartford, 12-5, in the second frame. Late in the match, redshirt senior Damian Attidore (Weston, Mass.) finished off a pair of rushes for two scores of his own.
 
Overall, the River Hawks out chanced Hartford, 24-5, en route to their second win in a row.
 
UMass Lowell will follow the home victory by taking to the road to play at Vermont on Thursday, October 28.