LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell men's soccer team (0-5-0, 0-3-0 AE) was edged, 1-0, by America East opponent Vermont (3-0-1, 3-0-1 AE) in the squads' second matchup this week.
 
"I thought there were adjustments made by both sides today," said Head Coach Christian Figueroa. "There was a lot of back-and-forth throughout the game. It's always challenging when you're playing a team again in the same week. It's just been one of those years right now with little moments that are costing us goals. And those mistakes have been critical in the result of the games, so I think that's something we need to pick ourselves up from and improve."
 
Sophomore Jacob Heihsel (Holliston, Mass.) turned in the complete-game effort in net with three saves. The Catamounts' Edgar Vargas earned the win on the other end of the field with two stops.
 
On offense, Vermont took a slight, 7-6 advantage on shots. Sophomore Alessandro Marongiu (Villa San Pietro, Italy) and freshman Reziq Banihani (Irbid, Jordan) paced the River Hawks with two shots apiece.
 
The teams split possession in the first half with shots even at 4-4 through the first 45 minutes. The River Hawks threatened with early chances to break open the scoring, including a wide open attempt from Marongiu that sailed just barely wide right in the fifth minute. Sophomore Matthias Stingl (Deggendorf, Germany) followed with a laser from the top of the box in the 15th minute, but the UVM keeper put his body behind a solid catch to keep the home team off the board.
 
The game's lone goal came in the 34th minute when Jonathan Bryant headed a ball out to the top corner of the box for Jacob Vitale, whose ensuing shot found the lower right corner.
 
The Catamounts had the opportunity to extend their margin in the second half, as Evan Rouleau's header off a throw in grazed the side of the net in the 47th minute. Heihsel then came up with a big save off a free kick from inside the 25 in the 78th minute to keep the difference at 1-0.
 
The River Hawks pushed the ball into their attacking zone down the stretch, but were unable to even the board and force extra time.
 
The team will now hit the field again next Friday, April 2 when they make the short trip to New Hampshire.