LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell women's soccer team (1-3-0, 0-0-0 AE) returns to action on Thursday, September 1 against the Stonehill College Skyhawks (1-2-0, 0-0-0 NEC) at Cushing Field. The River Hawks then head to Amherst to take on rival Massachusetts (1-2-1, 0-0-0 A10) on September 4 for a Sunday matinee.
September 1 vs. Stonehill (ESPN + – 7:00 p.m.)
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September 4 at Massachusetts (ESPN + – 3:00 p.m.)
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LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks enter Thursday night on a three-game losing skid after dropping games to Boston University and UConn last week. UMass Lowell has been outscored 10-1 over the last three games and will look to get back in the win column against Stonehill. Junior
Chloe Layne (Wrentham, Mass.) and sophomore
Ioanna Papatheodorou (Nea Erithraia, Greece) lead the team with three points apiece, with each player tallying one goal and one assist on the season. Junior
Calliste Brookshire (Kingston, Mass.) has one goal this season while graduate students
Lily Fabian (Monson, Mass.) and
Emily Nelson (Peabody, Mass.) have each tallied one assist this year. In goal, freshman Bára Beránková (Hradec Králové, Czech Republic) has the lone win for the River Hawks this season. Redshirt junior
Taylor Burgess (Mendon, Mass.) leads the team with 16 saves in three appearances.
SCOUTING THE SKYHAWKS
Stonehill comes to Lowell with a 1-2 record this season. The Skyhawks have dropped contests against Hartford (2-1) and University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (3-0). The lone win for Stonehill this season came against Adams State University, a 4-0 road victory. Lauren Clement and Olivia Sharkansky lead the team with two goals for four points apiece. Three Skyhawks' goalkeepers have seen time in goal this season with Leanne Durham picking up the teams only win this year.
MATCHUP HISTORY
Thursday's meeting will be the seventh time these teams have met. UMass Lowell is 2-2-2 all-time against Stonehill. The Skyhawks came away with the victory last time these teams met, a 1-0 win on October 2, 2012, in Lowell.
SCOUTING THE MINUTEWOMEN
Massachusetts holds a 1-2-1 overall record with a win against UAlbany on opening day. The Minutewomen dropped games against Fairfield (2-1) and Pittsburgh (6-1) before playing to a 1-1 draw with Robert Morris last time out. Prior to Sunday's matchup, Massachusetts will take on Boston College on September 1. Ella Curry leads the team with two goals on the year. Lauren Bonavita and Olivia Gouldsbury have each found the back of the net this season. Megan Olszewski has played and started in all four games this season and has a 1-1-1 record with 18 saves.
MATCHUP HISTORY
The River Hawks are 1-1-1 against Massachusetts. The Minutewomen came away with a 3-0 victory in Amherst last time these teams met on August 26, 2021. UMass Lowell is 1-0-1 at home against Massachusetts, taking a 3-0 win in March of 2021.
DYNAMIC DUO
Last season,
Ioanna Papatheodorou was the top scorer in the America East Conference with 10 goals while
Chloe Layne finished tied for fourth in the league with six goals of her own. With the addition of Layne to the 2022 roster, a new partnership has been created and the two strikers are building chemistry. In the season opener against Merrimack, Layne assisted Papathedorou's goal, and the sophomore returned the favor, assisting Layne's game-winning goal. The River Hawks will look to them for more offensive production as the season continues.
VETERAN CORE
The River Hawks have returned four veteran members of the team this season in
Emily Nelson, graduate students
Dunja Mostarac (Belgrade, Serbia) and
Lily Fabian and redshirt senior
Chaima Khammar (Cologne, Germany). 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.
INSTANT IMPACT
Several newcomers have already made an impact on the River Hawks this season. Both freshmen goalkeepers in Beránková and
Mia Robinson (Greenland, N.H.) have played 45 minutes in net and contributed to the team's first win of the year. Fellow freshmen
Sophie St. George (Walpole, Mass.) and
Nadja Andersen (Nakskov, Denmark) have seen game action in both games this season, each registering two shots and driving the offense forward.
