FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The UMass Lowell women's soccer team (0-1-1, 0-0 AE) and Fairfield Stags (1-0-1, 0-0 MAAC) played to an entertaining 1-1 draw at Lessing Field on Sunday afternoon.
 
Senior Calliste Brookshire (Kingston, Mass.) scored her second goal of the season in the second half to tie the game. Fellow senior Marissa Saucedo (Ventura, Calif.) picked up her first assist of the season on the Brookshire goal. Graduate student Taylor Burgess (Mendon, Mass.) made five saves, including a clutch breakaway stop, to help the River Hawks earn the draw.

"Taylor [Burgess] was fantastic for us today and I am very happy with our defense as well. We had to handle a lot of pressure and we were strong until the final whistle," commented head coach Mira Novak. "We created a few chances, especially in the first 20 minutes of the game. Hope [Santaniello] put herself in good positions again and had some chances. Marissa [Sage], Diana [Jedrychowski], and Eliana [Parreira] were great as well today in the midfield and on defense against Fairfield's offensive threats. Maddie Guthrie once again willing to put her body on the line today. We're leaving here with a good feeling that we competed with a very good team and I'm happy with our performance."
 
The River Hawks started the game well with good spells of possession in the Fairfield half. Junior Laura Cetina (Galicia, Spain) had two shots in the opening seven minutes, but both were off target. Cetina continued to dictate the play in the midfield with sharp ball movement and passing as UMass Lowell looked to break down the Fairfield defense.
 
Calliste Brookshire's cross from the left side in the 17^th minute found Hope Santaniello at the back post but the shot went wide of the goal. The midfield battles went the River Hawks' way for the opening 20 minutes as the game approached a water break due to the heat. After the break, Fairfield's intensity increased, and the momentum shifted.
 
Prior to the stoppage, the Stags had registered one shot. Fairfield finished the half with 13 total shots and five on goal. A flurry of chances came in a five-minute span, but Taylor Burgess came up big and made several key stops to keep the game scoreless. Allison LeBlanc cleared an effort that reached the goal line in the 28^th minute with the Stags drawing closer to finding the opening goal.
 
The deadlock was broken in the 32^nd minute when Aubrey Silverman's effort from outside the box sailed into the top of the goal to give the hosts a 1-0 advantage. Silverman hit the crossbar with another long-range effort just five minutes later. Fairfield took a one-goal lead into the halftime break.
 
Fairfield's pressure continued into the second half as the hosts created several chances to double the advantage. Burgess stayed sharp in goal, keeping the River Hawks in the game. The Stags had a breakaway in the 58^th minute, but Burgess was able to put off Fairfield's Theriault enough as the ball rolled out of bounds. Four minutes later, Theriault was in behind again, one on one with Burgess. The veteran goalkeeper got down quickly and made a diving save to keep the lead at one.
 
UMass Lowell defended well and looked to catch the Stags on the break in transition. The River Hawks earned their first corner of the game in the 68^th minute after good buildup play. Brookshire and Saucedo worked a short corner that saw Brookshire in space at the top of the box. The senior's left-footed shot soared into the top corner to tie the game at 1-1 with 20 minutes to play.

Fairfield continued to pepper the goal with shots, pinning UMass Lowell in their own end. The defense was able to hold off the hosts with Burgess making timely saves. With the clock winding down, the River Hawks caught Fairfield on the counterattack once again.
 
Marissa Saucedo and junior Hope Santaniello (Agawam, Mass) had a two on one going forward and Saucedo worked the ball wide behind her defender. The senior's chip to the back post found Santaniello's head, but the effort went just wide of the post in the final minute of play.
 
Despite being outshot 23-6 and 7-1 in shots on goal, the River Hawks earned a hard-fought draw on the road. UMass Lowell returns home to host Massachusetts in a Kennedy Cup clash at Cushing Field on Thursday, August 24.