LOWELL, Mass. – The final stretch of the regular season has arrived, and the UMass Lowell women's soccer team (1-5-5, 1-2-1 AE) returns to action to for two more America East games this week. The River Hawks host the Maine Black Bears (8-0-4, 3-0-1 AE) before visiting the UMBC Retrievers (3-10-2, 0-3-2 AE) on Sunday afternoon.
October 12 vs. Maine (ESPN+ – 6 p.m.)
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October 15 at UMBC (ESPN+– 1 p.m.)
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LOOKING AT UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks fell in their only game last week, a 2-0 defeat to Binghamton at Cushing Field on Sunday afternoon. UMass Lowell has scored just three goals in the last four games, despite registering 58 shots in that stretch. There has been good buildup play, but the unit is lacking that finishing touch in the opposition box.
Chloe Layne and
Calliste Brookshire each tallied four shots while
Laura Cetina and
Hope Santaniello had three shots apiece in the loss to Binghamton.
Taylor Burgess made three saves on the afternoon.
SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS
Maine is undefeated through 12 games this season and has yet to lose a conference game. The Black Bears have taken down Vermont, UAlbany and NJIT and tied UMBC. Maine has outscored America East opponents 10-4 in four games. They will be without the league's top goal-scorer on Thursday with Abbey Kraemer missing action through suspension. Eleven other players have found the back of the net this season, but the Black Bears lose a key figure in Kraemer, who has scored nine goals this year. Kira Kutzinski has started all 12 games in goal and made 44 saves to hold an 8-0-4 record.
MATCHUP HISTORY
The River Hawks are 3-6-1 against Maine since the 2013 season and have gone 3-0-1 in the last four meetings. Last season's matchup ended in a 1-1 draw in Orono.
SCOUTING THE RETRIEVERS
UMBC has struggled this season with a 3-10-2 overall mark and are currently winless in America East action. The Retrievers will visit UAlbany Thursday night before heading home to host UMass Lowell. In four league games, UMBC has lost to Binghamton, NJIT and Vermont and tied Maine. They have been outscored 10-4 in that stretch. Meghan McKye leads the team with five goals and one assist for 11 points this year while Natasha Munro has three goals. All three goalkeepers have seen time in net with Abbey Cowles leading the way with 64 saves in 13 starts.
MATCHUP HISTORY
Since the 2013 campaign, the River Hawks are 8-2 against UMBC and have won the last seven meetings. UMass Lowell has not conceded against the Retrievers since 2019, outscoring them 7-0 in the last three meetings.
CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Binghamton remains atop the league table with 11 points and an undefeated conference record. Maine is a point behind with a game in-hand while Bryant, New Hampshire and Vermont make up the middle of the table. NJIT and UMass Lowell are tied with four points and UMBC and UAlbany round out the league with two points each.
LEADING THE FLOCK
Calliste Brookshire's seven points leads the team while
Julia Edholm has three goals to lead the squad this season. Brookshire and
Luka Marceau each have two goals.
Taylor Burgess and
Allison LeBlanc are the only two players to have played all 990 minutes this season, starting all 11 games for the River Hawks. Burgess has made 53 saves and kept two cleans sheets this season.
