NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The UMass Lowell women's soccer team (0-1, 0-0 AE) fell to the Merrimack Warriors (1-0, 0-0 NEC) in the opening game of the 2023 campaign on Thursday night in North Andover.
 
Senior Calliste Brookshire (Kingston, Mass.) scored the lone goal for the River Hawks, opening her scoring account for the season. Graduate student Taylor Burgess (Mendon, Mass.) made five saves on the night. Junior Hope Santaniello (Agawam, Mass.) was an offensive threat all evening and registered two shots on goal.

"It was a fun night, full stands here and the level of competition was really high. Obviously conceding late in the game is not how you plan it, but I'm pleased with the performance tonight," said head coach Mira Novak. "I thought the freshmen did a great job tonight and we know throughout the season we'll try players in new positons. Overall, I am pleased with how we played and the willingness to win was there. Tonight came down to execution, we make a few mistakes and get punished and we did not take our chances on the other end, so we'll work on that and get ready for Sunday."
 
UMass Lowell came out the gate fast with two chances in the first 10 minutes. Creative linkup play between Brookshire, Santaniello and junior Laura Cetina (Galicia, Spain) pushed the River Hawks forward and the front trio generated chances on the Warriors' goal in the early stages of the game.
 
Burgess was called into action in the 19^th minute, making a save on a shot from a tight angle by the goal line. Just a few minutes later, the River Hawks orchestrated an attack starting from Burgess in net. UMass Lowell worked the ball through the midfield, cutting through the Merrimack defense. Brookshire was able to find space on the wing and cross a ball into senior Chloe Layne (Wrentham, Mass.) whose header was saved.
 
The Warriors had a good spell of possession in the last 15 minutes of the first half but did not generate a real threat to the UMass Lowell goal and the teams went into the break scoreless.
 
Much like the first half, the River Hawks came out flying as Santaniello broke in behind the Merrimack defense in the first minute of the second half. The junior's shot got through the goalkeeper but went inches wide of the post, nearly giving the visitors the lead. Santaniello had another chance three minutes later, but the shot was collected by the goalkeeper.
 
Cetina showed her creative footwork, dancing through three Merrimack defenders to find space at the top of the box in the 55^th minute. Her left-footed shot was saved, but the River Hawks were knocking. A minute later, Brookshire finds the breakthrough. The senior burst down the sideline and cut toward the goal before ripping a shot into the far corner to put UMass Lowell in front 1-0.
 
Merrimack had an answer 10 minutes later, catching the River Hawks in transition. Ella Cormier snuck in behind and found the back of the net to tie the game. Both sides generated scoring opportunities as the game approached the final minutes and both goalkeepers teams made timely saves to give their side a chance to find the winner.
 
The hosts would eventually take the lead in the 88^th minute with another transition goal from Cormier that went into the top corner of the net. UMass Lowell could not find a late equalizer and fell in the season opener.
The River Hawks are back in action on Sunday, August 20 with a visit to Fairfield to take on the Stags. Kickoff is slated for 1pm at Lessing Field in Fairfield, Connecticut.