LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell women's soccer team (7-5-3, 4-1-1 AE) defeated the UMBC Retrievers (5-6-4, 1-3-2 AE) behind goals from graduate student Emily Nelson (Peabody, Mass.) and sophomore Ioanna Papatheodorou (Nea Erithraia, Greece) on Sunday afternoon to earn a spot in the America East Championship.
 
Nelson scored her second goal in as many games while Papatheodorou scored her team-high ninth goal of the season and added an assist. Junior Marissa Saucedo (Ventura, Calif.) tallied an assist while Redshirt senior Chaima Khammar (Cologne, Germany) and sophomore Emma Mitchell (West Orange, N.J.) each tallied two shots. Redshirt junior Taylor Burgess (Mendon, Mass.) made three saves to earn her fifth win of the season and fourth clean sheet.
 
The River Hawks started the game well, putting the visitors under pressure right away. Papatheodorou had a chance just two minutes in as the sophomore spun her defender and forced a diving save from UMBC's McGruder. UMass Lowell opened the scoring in the seventh minute after Khammar's through ball found Papatheodorou in behind the Retrievers' defense. Papatheodorou cut the ball back and found Emily Nelson who drilled a shot into the top corner to put the River Hawks ahead 1-0 early.
 
Once again, the back line of the River Hawks thwarted the UMBC attack and broke up several passes, frustrating the Retrievers' offense. Emma Mitchell and graduate student Lily Fabian (Monson, Mass.) took advantage of the space available on the wings, driving forward and joining the attack. Burgess was called to action in the 26^th minute as UMBC had their best chance of the half. The redshirt junior made a comfortable save to keep the visitors off the board.
 
Ioanna Papatheodorou scored her ninth goal of the season just before the half to double the host's advantage. Marissa Saucedo played a brilliant long-range ball over the UMBC back line that bounced favorably to the feet of Papatheodorou. The sophomore needed just a poke to get the ball into the net and is now one goal shy of matching her total from last season.
 
The runs from Mitchell and Fabian allowed the River Hawks more options going forward in the first half. Shots were 7-2 in favor of UMass Lowell after 45 minutes as the River Hawks took a 2-0 lead into the break.
 
Out of the break, UMBC picked up the intensity and began putting more pressure on the River Hawk defense. The center back pairing of graduate student Dunja Mostarac (Belgrade, Serbia) and senior Allison LeBlanc (Saugus, Mass.) continued to anchor the defense and keep the Retrievers' attack away from a real threat on goal.
 
The tempo in the second half was slower than the first, but the River Hawks did have a few chances to extend the lead. Nelson and Papatheodorou both had chances in a five-minute span that helped UMass Lowell regain control of the game. UMBC could not get too much going offensively and struggled to test Burgess in goal. Late chances from freshman Kirti Craig (Spotswood, N.J.) and Emma Mitchell went over the crossbar, but the River Hawks showed good signs in the attacking third.
 
With the win on Sunday, the River Hawks clinched a berth in the America East Championship. The final week of the regular season will hold big playoff implications and will determine the seeding of the tournament.
 
UMass Lowell returns to action on Sunday, October 23 to take on the Binghamton Bearcats. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, N.Y.