ALBANY, N.Y. – Junior Dunja Mostarac (Belgrade, Serbia) scored the game-winning goal in the 80th minute to help UMass Lowell earn a 2-1 America East Conference win over the UAlbany women's soccer team on Sunday afternoon at Casey Stadium.
 
The River Hawks (4-1-1, 3-0-0 AE) pick up their fourth straight win to remain unbeaten in league action, while the Great Danes drop to 3-5 overall (2-2 AE).
 
"This was a character showing win from the team today," commented Head Coach Mira Novak. "We had a good start, striking early to gain some momentum. We saw some outstanding performances today from Kristina and Dunja, being able to close down the Great Dane offense. I'm very happy with today's outcome as this gets us one step closer to clinching playoffs."
 
UAlbany played the more aggressive game, recording 17 fouls over the full 90 minutes. The home team led narrowly in shots with 12 on the day, compared to the River Hawks 11. However, the visitors took the advantage on corner opportunities, tallying six to UAlbany's four.
 
UMass Lowell, who hadn't played a road contest since Feb. 25, scored first as freshman Calliste Brookshire (Kingston, Mass.) slipped a pass to junior Lily Fabian (Monson, Mass.), who beat Great Dane goalkeeper Sophia Chen, with a shot in the 16th minute.
 
Sophomore Taylor Burgess (Mendon, Mass.) highlighted the River Hawks in net, making two saves in the first stanza to keep the home team off the board.
 
Although the safety was short lived, as the Great Danes answered in the 62nd minute, sending a shot high and to the left, just barely missing Burgess's fingertips for a 1-1 equalizer.
 
The match appeared to be headed to overtime for the second game for the River Hawks this season, although junior Kristina Bartsch (Pulheim, Germany) would send a free kick into the center of the box where Mostarac was able to break free from a Great Dane defender and send a shot into the back right corner for the game-winner at 80:16. This marks Mostarac's first tally of the season and fourth game-winner of her career.
 
Burgess finished the contest with five saves to snag the win, while Sophia Chen stopped three in the loss.

Up next, the River Hawks will welcome UMBC for a senior day celebration at 12 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, before heading to Vermont to face off against the Catamounts in the regular season finale.