LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Laura Cetina (Galicia, Spain) and senior Chloe Layne (Wrentham, Mass.) found the back of the net to lead the UMass Lowell women's soccer (2-5-5, 2-2-1 AE) to a 2-0 victory over the Maine Black Bears (8-1-4, 3-1-1 AE) on Thursday night at Cushing Field.
 
Redshirt senior Taylor Burgess (Mendon, Mass.) had a standout night in goal, making four saves to earn her third clean sheet of the year. Junior Emma Mitchell (West Orange, N.J.) and senior Calliste Brookshire (Kingston, Mass.) each tallied an assist in the win.
 
"I think today we had a strong performance and managed the game really well. Happy for the two that scored goals and we picked up a win against a really strong team," said Mira Novak. "They [Maine] tested us and I think the back line kept them from creating too many chances. Taylor made some great saves tonight as well to keep the clean sheet. Really happy with the performance and now we get ready for the Sunday."
 
The Black Bears had most of the possession in the opening 10 minutes but could not break through the River Hawk's organized defensive line. Freshman Luka Marceau (Newton, Mass.) had the best chance in the early going with a tough angle shot from the right side of the field. The freshman saw her shot go just wide of the post. A few minutes later, fifth year Julia Edholm (Stockholm, Sweden) had an effort on goal from a corner, but the header was saved.
 
UMass Lowell moved the ball well as they have all season but lacked the finishing touch in the final third. Marceau had another chance in the 29^th minute, a left-footed shot that was saved once again. Junior Hope Santaniello (Agawam, Mass.) had a great chance in the 41^st minute alone in the box but was again saved. Neither side could break through in the first half and the teams went into the break scoreless.
 
At the half, the River Hawks had a 5-1 advantage in shots and a 3-1 edge in shots on goal. UMass Lowell had four corners while Maine had three.
 
The opening 10 minutes of the second half was all River Hawks but despite the possession, just one shot on goal from Calliste Brookshire who say her left-footed effort from outside the box saved. The breakthrough finally came in the 58^th minute after Emma Mitchell played a beautiful ball over the top to Laura Cetina in behind the defense. The junior calmly placed the ball into the bottom corner of the goal to give UMass Lowell a 1-0 lead.
 
After conceding, the Black Bears upped the pressure and began to build more of an attacking threat. Through 70 minutes, the UMass Lowell defense held strong, and Burgess came up with a few key saves to keep the hosts in front. Burgess made an incredible diving save in the 72^nd minute to push a long-range shot over the crossbar.
 
The River Hawks doubled the lead in the 79^th minute after Chloe Layne finished a cross from Calliste Brookshire at the back post into an empty goal, giving UMass Lowell a much-needed insurance goal.
 
UMass Lowell closed out the final 10 minutes with good possession and ball movement to secure a huge three points in conference play. The defensive unit was superb in their defending and Taylor Burgess once again made several highlight-reel stops in the victory.
 
Up next, the River Hawks visit UMBC for Sunday afternoon matchup on October 15 in Baltimore.