LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell men's soccer team (1-5-3, 0-1-1 AE) fell to the #16 Vermont Catamounts (8-1-1, 2-0-0 AE) 4-0 on Saturday afternoon at Cushing Field.
 
Leading the way for the River Hawks on offense was sophomore Kacper Skonieczny (North Haven, Conn.) with one shot on goal. Also tallying shots were seniors Borna Miklic (Kutina, Croatia), Matthias Stingl (Deggendorf, Germany), sophomore Jonathan Ferreira (Ashland, Mass.), and freshman Michael Oliveri Jr. (West Islip, N.Y.). In net, senior Jacob Heihsel (Holliston, Mass.) made five saves in 90 minutes of action.
 
"We were in a pretty big hole in the first half," said head coach Kyle Zenoni. "They're a good team. It's a hard game. It was a good learning experience for all of us. I know the guys are disappointed, but to put things in perspective, we got better in the second half as well."
 
The Catamounts controlled possession and put pressure on the River Hawks to open the game. After a foul in the box, Vermont opened the scoring off a penalty kick in the 14th minute to take a 1-0 lead. Vermont continued to play aggressive on offense and found the back of the net again, doubling their lead. In the 27th minute, the Catamounts added one more goal to take a 3-0 lead.
 
Vermont continued to attack the River Hawks, giving them little space to move the ball up the field. Right before the break, UMass Lowell had its best opportunity of the day to get on the board. Sophomore Kai McLoughlin (Dural, New South Wales) stole the ball from a Catamounts defender and quickly sprinted down the field. After making a move past another defender, he fired a pass to Ferreira, who launched a shot at the net, but it sailed just high. The Catamounts proceeded to hold their 3-0 heading into the half.
 
Coming out of the locker room, the UMass Lowell defense started stronger than they did to open the game, as they continued to keep the ball off their half of the field. However, in the 56th minute, the Catamounts were awarded back-to-back corner kicks, and were able to convert on the later of the two to extend their lead to 4-0.
 
In the 62nd minute, the River Hawks had one more great opportunity to get on the board. After a pass was sent high in front of the net, Miklic attempted to finish the header, but was fouled by the Vermont goalkeeper. The River Hawks were awarded a penalty kick, but Stingl's shot just missed left. UMass Lowell was unable to find any other opportunities through the remainder of the game, resulting in a 4-0 final.
 
Next up, the River Hawks take on Hartford at Cushing Field in the Morgan's Message dedication game on Wednesday, October 5, at 4 p.m.