August 19 vs. Holy Cross (7 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. – Playing just four months ago, the UMass Lowell women's soccer team will return to the pitch for the 2021 season opener against Holy Cross tomorrow evening at Cushing Field.
SCOUTING HOLY CROSS
The Crusaders compiled a 1-3 overall record in 2020, before their campaign was cut short by the uptick in COVID-19 cases. Holy Cross brings back a very similar team from last season, led by Lexi Ansaldi, Katie Quinn, and Ellie Zern, who have each tallied a team-leading two points. On the defensive side, the Crusaders bring back both Avery Gardner and Erin Goss who started all four games last year.
REGULAR SEASON CHAMPS
The River Hawks defied all odds following the COVID-19 shutdown, bringing their season from fall to spring. Dominating on both sides of the field, Lowell went 5-2-1 to earn the title of America East Regular-Season Champions for the first time in program history. Rolling through the conference slate at 4-0-0, all but one win came in shutout fashion for the River Hawks. Though they stumbled, 1-0 to Binghamton in the semifinals, the team was outstanding all year long breaking six program records while earning numerous postseason accolades.
MAJOR SEASON = MAJOR AWARDS
UMass Lowell added to its historic season as the River Hawks took home five of the league's six major awards, in addition to six individuals combining for nine All-Conference honors.
Dunja Mostarac (Belgrade, Serbia) received Defender of the Year accolades, while redshirt-freshman netminder
Taylor Burgess (Mendon, Mass.) snagged both Goalkeeper and Rookie of the Year for her outstanding performance between the posts. Both individuals received All-Conference First Team honors, as well.
While navigating an unprecedented season and for their efforts in orchestrating the team's impressive turnaround from a few seasons ago, Head Coach
Mira Novak and his staff were distinctly honored with Coaching Staff of the Year.
Other accolades included;
Lily Fabian (All-Conference First Team),
Emily Nelson (All-Conference Second Team),
Abigail Drezek (All-Academic Team),
Dunja Mostarac (All-Academic Team).
VIEWS FROM THE TOP
UMass Lowell placed as the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament for the first time in the Division I era last season, marking the third-straight postseason appearance for the River Hawks. Notably, all three winning seasons have come during the Novak crusade.
NATIONAL NEWS
As a unit, the River Hawks solidified their spot among the top 20 teams in the NCAA in multiple statistical categories this season. Backed by their strong defensive performance, the squad wrapped their campaign ranked fifth in the nation in save percentage (.897), 14th in goals against average (.495) and 15th in shutout percentage (.625).
LIMITING CHANCES
Throughout eight games the River Hawks have only allowed four goals. The UMass Lowell defense held opponents to a .046 shooting percentage with only 39 of the opponents' shots being registered on goal.
ON THE SIDE LINES
Novak enters his fourth season on the UMass Lowell sidelines. He was named head coach in 2018 after leading the team to the most wins in the Division era, with seven on the season. Novak now holds a career record of 16-22-8 to tie former coach Joe Bancroft (2013-16, 16-36-3) as the second winningest coach in program history.
OH CAPTAIN, OUR CAPTAINS
Abigail Drezek (Cumberland, R.I.) and
Emily Nelson (Peabody, Mass.) return to their leadership roles as captains of the 2021 squad.
LEADING THE FLOCK
UMass Lowell was an unbelievable force despite the shortened 2020 season, scoring 13 goals to opponents four, while piling up 112 total shot opportunities to the oppositions' 84.
Lily Fabian (Monson, Mass.) headed the charge for the River Hawks, making a start in all eight contests in midfield. She recorded three multi-point appearances to lead all scorers with seven points on the season. Five other River Hawks tallied three points to tie for second, including rookies
Calliste Brookshire (Kingston, Mass.) and
Marissa Saucedo (Ventura, Calif.).
NEW TO THE NEST
There are seven fresh faces on the 2021 roster. The class includes midfielder
Kelli Buckley (Shrewsbury, Mass.); forwards
Lærke Niklasson (Roskilde, Denmark) and
Ioanna Papatheodorou (Nea Erithraia, Greece); defenders
Kaia Harris (Seminole, Fla.),
Saga Hollbrink (Stockholm, Sweden) and
Emma Mitchell (West Orange, N.J.); and goalkeepers
Lisa Sjögren (Skellefteå, Sweden) and
Morgan Wesson (Monson, Mass.).
AROUND THE WORLD
Out of the 27 women roster, eight members hail from all different corners of the world. Six countries are represented on the River Hawk roster which includes Serbia (
Dunja Mostarac), Germany (
Chaima Khammar), Iceland (
Rakel Stefansdottir), Greece (
Ioanna Papatheodorou), Denmark (
Lærke Niklasson) and Sweden (
Olivia Sandahl,
Saga Hollbrink,
Lisa Sjögren).
