LOWELL, Mass. – Following a 1-0-1 record last week, the UMass Lowell women's soccer team (2-3-1, 0-0-0 AE) will continue its road trip with two more contests this week. The River Hawks take on the Auburn Tigers (3-0-3, 0-0-0 SEC) on Thursday before a matchup with former America East rival Hartford (4-1-0, 0-0-0 CCC) on Sunday afternoon.
September 8 at Auburn (SECN + – 7:30 p.m. ET/ 6:30 p.m. CST)
Watch | Listen | Live Stats
September 11 at Hartford (ESPN + – 1:00 p.m.)
Watch | Live Stats
LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks continue the road trip after going 1-0-1 last week. UMass Lowell thrashed Stonehill 5-0 on Thursday before earning a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Massachusetts on Sunday. Sophomore
Ioanna Papatheodorou (Nea Erithraia, Greece) earned America East Offensive Player of the Week, as announced by the league on Tuesday, after tallying three goals and one assist for seven points last week. She leads the team with 10 points on the year. Juniors
Calliste Brookshire (Kingston, Mass.) and
Chloe Layne (Wrentham, Mass.) found the back of the net as well, each netting their third goal of the season. Redshirt junior
Taylor Burgess (Mendon, Mass.) earned her first win of the season over Stonehill and made five saves in two games.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Auburn enters Thursday on a six-game unbeaten streak to start the season. The Tigers have tied three straight games before beating Army 1-0 last time out. Auburn has the quality to score plenty of goals, seen earlier this season in a 9-0 thrashing of Southern Mississippi. They have also played then #2 Florida State to a 1-1 draw and #21 West Virginia to a 0-0 draw. Three players are tied for the team lead with two goals each. Anna Haddock leads the squad with two goals and three assists for seven points through six games. Goalkeeper Maddie Prohaska has a 3-0-3 record with 19 saves and only one goal against on the year.
MATCHUP HISTORY
Thursday will be the first meeting between the River Hawks and Tigers.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS
Hartford is 4-1 on the year and went 2-0 last week, claiming 2-1 victories over both Merrimack and Siena. The Hawks also have wins over Stonehill (2-1) and Lafayette (1-0) this season. They will take on former America East foe NJIT on Thursday before hosting the River Hawks on Sunday. Imani Jenkins has found her stride early this season, leading the team with eight goals for 16 points through five games. Abigail McCarthy has a 4-1 record in goal with 27 saves and six goals against in five matches.
MATCHUP HISTORY
UMass Lowell is 1-7-1 against Hartford dating back to the 2013 season. The last time the River Hawks defeated the Hawks came in a 1-0 double overtime victory in 2015. Hartford then won five straight meetings before the teams played to a 2-2 draw in October 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 contributing to the River Hawk offense. Papatheodorou leads the team with four goals on the year while Layne is tied for second with three goals of her own.
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 (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 every game this season, each registering one assist and driving the offense forward.
