ORONO, ME. – Graduate student Emily Nelson (Peabody, Mass.) scored her first goal of the season as the UMass Lowell women's soccer team (6-5-3, 3-1-1 AE) played to a 1-1 draw with the Maine Black Bears (7-3-3, 3-0-3 AE) on Thursday night.
 
Nelson had one goal on two shots on net for the River Hawks while sophomore Ioanna Papatheodorou (Nea Erithraia, Greece) led all players with six shots, with three on target. Junior Chloe Layne (Wrentham, Mass.) had a team-high four shots on goal. Redshirt junior Taylor Burgess (Mendon, Mass.) made six saves in the draw.
 
"Good start and good first half for us. I thought we created a bunch of good chances. I think it was a very professional performance," said head coach Mira Novak. "Very proud of how we executed our game plan and the back four again was great for us. They had a lot of work tonight and I'm very happy with them."
 
The back line of the River Hawks had another solid performance as graduate student Dunja Mostarac (Belgrade, Serbia) and senior Allison LeBlanc (Sauguas, Mass.) anchored the defensive unit. Graduate student Lily Fabian (Monson, Mass.) and sophomore Emma Mitchell (East Orange, N.J.) had good showings again, breaking up plays and joining the attack the other way.
 
The Black Bears had the first effort in the second minute, a shot that went well off target. That would be the only real chance Maine would create in the entire first half. The River Hawks had a great opportunity in the 5^th minute to take an early lead, but Chloe Layne saw two close-range efforts saved. UMass Lowell put the Maine defense under early pressure, earning two corners and three shots on goal in the opening 15 minutes.
 
Maine looked to keep a high line to draw the River Hawks offside, but the forwards made darting runs across the back line and the midfield was able to slip the ball through the Maine defense several times. Ioanna Papatheodorou had a chance in behind the defense in the 17^th minute, but her shot went wide. The deadlock was broken a minute later as Emily Nelson scored her first goal of the season, finishing off a corner from Chaima Khammar to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
 
In the final 15 minutes of the half, Maine had more possession and looked to break through the River Hawks back line to find an equalizer. Good defensive shape and high pressure forced Maine to lose possession before creating any offensive rhythm. The Black Bears tallied just their second shot on goal in the half in the 37^th minute as Burgess made a comfortable save.
 
The hosts did not threaten the UMass Lowell goal in the first half while the River Hawks offense created six shots on goal and four corner kicks. Emily Nelson and Chloe Layne each tallied two shots on target in the opening frame. Nelson's goal gave UMass Lowell the 1-0 lead at the half.
 
Out of the break, the Black Bears had an early chance to tie the game as Saylor Clark got in behind the River Hawks' defense, but Taylor Burgess was quick off her line and made the save to keep the visitors in front. UMass Lowell had another great chance in the 56^th minute as Ioanna Papatheodorou spun her defender and managed a shot on goal, but Kira Kutzinski came up with a big save. Just over a minute later, Papatheodorou had another chance in behind the defense, but the Maine goalkeeper came up with another stop to keep the Black Bears in the game.
 
Maine found an equalizer in the 64^th minute after Abby Kraemer finished a second chance header into the top of the net. The goal sparked life as the Black Bears upped the possession and pressure, forcing Burgess to make a few saves. There were few chances for either side until Chloe Layne's free kick attempt in the 81^st minute was saved by Kutzinski. UMass Lowell poured on more pressure late but could not find a late winner. The teams would share the points in Orono.
 
"This is a really hard place to play, and Maine knows how to play well here. We can be happy with the number of chances we created, but at the same time we cannot be happy with just one goal," added Novak. "Tonight felt like a playoff game with the energy and competition. They have not lost at home this season and we went the distance with them. I'm happy with our desire to win and the fight we had in our game tonight."
 
Next up for UMass Lowell is a matchup with the UMBC retrievers on Sunday. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Cushing Field.