LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore Ioanna Papatheodorou (Nea Erithraia, Greece) scored twice to lead the UMass Lowell women's soccer team (6-5-2, 3-1-0 AE) to a 3-0 win over the Bryant Bulldogs (3-6-4, 0-2-3 AE) on Sunday afternoon.
 
Papatheodorou led the way with a pair of goals on three shots on goal. Graduate student Lily Fabian (Monson, Mass.) had another stellar performance on defense and added an assist, her fourth of the year. Sophomore Lærke Niklasson (Roskilde, Denmark) also tallied an assist for her first point of the season. Redshirt junior Taylor Burgess (Mendon, Mass.) made eight saves to earn her fourth win and third clean sheet on the season.
 
"Happy with the clean sheet again, last week we had one as well. Huge credit to Taylor [Burgess]. We gave up some good chances and she was strong, and she earned the shutout today," said head coach Mira Novak. "Scoring two early goals put us in a good position today and we got the job done."
 
Bryant got off to a quick start, creating two early shots on goal that were both saved by Burgess. The River Hawks opened the scoring in the 8^th minute after Lily Fabian played a long ball over the top of the Bulldogs' back line to Papatheodorou. The sophomore judged the bounce well and turned the defender, then calmly chipped the goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead. Bryant responded just two minutes later with a great opportunity, but Burgess came up with a big save on a partial break to keep the hosts ahead.
 
The sides traded chances in the opening 15 minutes and UMass Lowell capitalized once again after a Bryant chance. Papatheodorou collected the ball near the midfield line and drove toward the Bryant goal. The sophomore played the ball out wide to Lærke Niklasson, who cut back to create space to return the ball. Papatheodorou took one touch to set up a rocket of a shot that drilled the crossbar and bounced in to give the River Hawks a 2-0 lead.
 
The Bulldogs did not let the two early goals rattle them as they picked up the offensive pressure. Bryant built through the midfield and looked to get their wing players to cut inside for shots on goal. Burgess was up to the task and made six saves in the first half to keep UMass Lowell ahead 2-0 at the half.
 
Out of the halftime break, the Bulldogs picked up their intensity, looking for a way back into the game. Their best chance of the afternoon came in the 57^th minute as Jordyn Collins used her speed and strength to create space as she drove down the line. Collins cut back pass found Madison Luke, who pulled the shot just inches wide of the post.
 
Less than 10 minutes later the hosts added a third goal to put the game out of reach. Redshirt senior Chaima Khammar (Cologne, Germany) played a brilliant through ball to Niklasson, cutting open the Bryant defense. Niklasson drove toward goal and saw her shot deflect off a Bryant defender and in for a 3-0 UMass Lowell lead. Bryant had another chance to get on the board in the 76^th, another good look inside the box but the shot went just over the crossbar.
 
The River Hawks held on to keep the clean sheet to win their third straight conference game and improve to 5-1 at home this season. UMass Lowell had a 15-14 edge in shots and shots on goal were even at eight apiece. Bryant held a slight edge in possession, keeping 51% of the ball.
 
"It's always nice to win and three in a row is nice, but we're taking it a game at a time," added Novak. "We will celebrate a good win today and tomorrow we come back and get ready to play a strong Maine team on Thursday."
 
Next up for the River Hawks is a tough road contest against Maine on Thursday night. Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. at Mahaney Diamond in Orono.