LOWELL, Mass. – Fifth year Julia Edholm (Stockholm, Sweden) scored twice to lead the #4 UMass Lowell women's soccer team (4-5-7, 3-2-3 AE) to a 3-1 victory over the #5 NJIT Highlanders (7-7-5, 3-4-1 AE) on Monday night. The River Hawks advance to the America East Semifinal game against #1 Binghamton on Thursday night in Vestal, N.Y.
 
Senior Calliste Brookshire (Kingston, Mass.) tallied two assists on the night to go with eight shots and five shots on goal. Fellow senior Chloe Layne (Wrentham, Mass.) scored her fourth goal of the season in the win and freshman Fransizca Sinclair (Frankfurt, Germany) picked up an assist to earn her first career point. Junior Laura Cetina (Galicia, Spain) had three shots and two on goal. Redshirt senior Taylor Burgess (Mendon, Mass.) made five saves on the night.

"I think it was a dream start for us, we created a lot of good chances in the first half," said head coach Mira Novak. "I think with it being playoffs there were some nerves early, but after that first five minutes, we executed our game plan very well. The second half it felt like we were protecting the lead a little, but we got the job done and scored another goal. Last time we played Binghamton, it was good game. We have two days to get ready for Thursday and the team is hungry."
 
The River Hawks found their footing after a slow first five minutes of the game when Calliste Brookshire nearly scored from a corner kick in the sixth minute. A few minutes later, Edholm played a brilliant ball over the top to find Brookshire in behind the defense, but the effort went wide.
 
Chloe Layne had the breakthrough for UMass Lowell in the 15^th minute with a redirect from a free kick. Brookshire whipped a ball in from the corner of the box and Layne got a touch to send the ball into the bottom corner and give the River Hawks a 1-0 lead.
 
Just 10 minutes later, Brookshire's corner kick from the right side was headed into the top corner by Julia Edholm to double the River Hawks' lead. UMass Lowell was in control and would have a numerical advantage for almost an hour after NJIT's Riley Jones was shown a second yellow card and sent off in the 33^rd minute.
 
UMass Lowell picked up the pressure and registered seven shots on target in the first half and outshot NJIT 10-1. The River Hawks also had a 5-1 edge in corner kicks and took a 2-0 lead into the half.
 
With their season on the line, the Highlanders came out flying in the second half, immediately putting UMass Lowell under pressure. NJIT had two chances in the opening five minutes but were unable to cut the deficit. Despite seeing more of the ball and extended time in the River Hawks' half of the field, the Highlanders could not break through the back line.
 
In the 71^st minute, Julia Edholm scored her fifth goal of the season and second of the game from another corner. The cross from Brookshire found Franzisca Sinclair who headed the ball into the oath of Edholm, who then fired the ball into the top of the goal to push the lead to 3-0.
 
NJIT got on the board in the 76^th minute behind a lovely direct free kick from Bailey Chant. Junior Hope Santaniello (Agawam, Mass.) had several chances with four shots on the night, including a chance in the 80^th minute which saw the junior in behind the defense in a one-on-one. The right-footed effort beat the goalkeeper, but curled inches wide of the post.

UMass Lowell closed out the game and advances to the semifinal match with top-seeded Binghamton. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, N.Y. on Thursday, November 2.