LOWELL, Mass. – The America East Championship is back, and the No. 4 UMass Lowell women's soccer (7-6-4, 4-2-2 AE) will host the No. 5 UAlbany Great Danes (6-8-4, 3-2-3 AE) in a first-round matchup. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Cushing Field on Sunday, October 30.
October 30 vs. No. 5 UAlbany (ESPN+ -- 4 p.m.)
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LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks enter Sunday's contest after wrapping up the regular season with a draw against New Hampshire.
Allison LeBlanc's goal with one second remaining rescued a point for the River Hawks and gave them a home record of 6-1-1 on the season. Ioanna Papatheodorou, Chloe Layne and
Calliste Brookshire continue to put up points and the River Hawks will look to the front three for more scoring in the postseason. The defensive unit of LeBlanc,
Dunja Mostarac,
Lily Fabian and Emma Mitchell has been strong through conference play this season.
Taylor Burgess has been a key figure in goal, keeping three clean sheets in the last six games.
Emily Nelson has four goals in the last four games and will look to provide more scoring in the postseason.
SCOUTING THE GREAT DANES
The Great Danes enter the postseason after finishing the regular season with a 1-1 draw against Vermont. UAlbany is 1-0-2 in the last three games of the regular season and has conference wins over UMBC, UMass Lowell and New Hampshire. Emily Jozak leads the team with seven goals and 14 points this season. The Great Danes have plenty of secondary scoring with Olivia Piraino tallying four goals and Sahara Zingano and Marisa Tava each scoring three goals on the season. Meghan Hart has started all 18 games this season and holds a 6-8-4 record with 78 saves and 25 goals against.
MATCHUP HISTORY
UMass Lowell is 4-6-1 against the Great Danes. The teams met earlier in the year in the River Hawks' opening conference game where UAlbany came away with a 1-0 win. The Great Danes have won the last two meetings between these sides, both 1-0 victories. UMass Lowell's last win against UAlbany came in 2021, a 2-1 victory in Albany.
THE COMFORTS OF HOME
UMass Lowell has enjoyed the home slate this season, putting together a 6-1-1 record at Cushing Field. The River Hawks have outscored opponents 21-9 at home and have kept three clean sheets. The team is 3-0-1 in conference games in Lowell and have won the last five games played at Cushing this season.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Ioanna Papatheodorou was the leading scorer in the league last season, tallying 10 goals for 20 points. The sophomore has matched last season's total, scoring 10 goals through 17 games this season. She has added three assists to total a team-high 23 points.
Calliste Brookshire has added seven goals, tied for third in the league, and one assist for 15 points this season.
CONFERENCE RANKS
Ioanna Papatheodorou sits atop the league in goals (10) and shots on goal (29) and is second in points (23) and shots (58).
Calliste Brookshire is tied for third in the league with seven goals this season.
Lily Fabian is tied for fourth in the league in assists, tallying four so far. The River Hawks have scored 32 goals this season, second most in the conference, and lead the league with 24 assists in 17 games.
VETERAN CORE
The River Hawks have returned four veteran members of the team this season in graduate students
Emily Nelson,
Dunja Mostarac and
Lily Fabian, and redshirt senior
Chaima Khammar. The veteran leadership group has been key in getting the newcomers acclimated and raising the level of play on the field. Having been through several seasons, the group leads by example on and off the field.
