NEW BRITAIN, Conn. – Senior Guillermo Francés Poquet (Enguera, Valencia) tallied two goals as the UMass Lowell men's soccer team (2-2-2) bounced back with a 5-0 win over the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils (2-4-0) on Saturday night at CCSU Soccer Field.

"We have had a challenging week with everything going on and the guys made a statement tonight," said Head Coach Kyle Zenoni. "I am really proud of our guys for staying focused and playing every second of the match. It hasn't been easy, but we stick together through thick and thin. Being on the road and winning in college is difficult, but we got after it tonight."
 
Freshman Daniele Mastroianni (Montréal, Quebec) scored his third goal of the season, and sophomores Iñaki Esnaola (Junin, Argentina) and Michael Oliveri Jr. (West Islip, N.Y.) each added their first career goals in the win. Graduate student Javier Torres (Málaga, Spain) and junior Jonathan Ferreira (Ashland, Mass.) each contributed with an assist. In net, junior Adam Henry (Fort Myers, Fl.) made two saves in 90 minutes of action.
 
The River Hawks got to a fast start as they dominated the time of possession in the opening minutes. In the 12th minute, UMass Lowell opened the scoring after junior Shunnosuke Nakajima (Yokohama, Japan) started the attack from midfield. Racing past multiple defenders, Nakajima made his way to just outside the box before firing off a shot that was blocked by the goaltender, rebounding right to Francés Poquet. Without hesitation, the senior sent the ball into the back of the net, giving the River Hawks an early 1-0 lead.
 
Only five minutes later, UMass Lowell was again on the attack and looking to strike. Making a juke move past his defender, graduate student Javier Torres (Málaga, Spain) dashed towards the net before kicking the ball out to a wide-open Francés Poquet at the top of the box. Once again, the senior fired off a shot, sneaking it right past the fingertips of Blue Devils' goalie, trickling into the net for his second goal of the evening. Through the remainder of the half, the River Hawks continued to create scoring opportunities but would head into the break with a 2-0 lead.
 
It took only ten minutes into the second half for the River Hawks to strike again as Mastroianni launched a shot from nearly 40 yards out that tipped off the hands of the goalkeeper and dribbled into the goal to make it 3-0. In the 59th minute, Francés Poquet collected the loose ball in the middle of the field before passing it to Esnaola. The sophomore drove toward the net before drilling a shot past three defenders and the keeper to add to his team's lead.
 
The final twenty minutes saw the River Hawks continue to create multiple chances, including shots from Nakajima and graduate student Josh Ofosu (Chelmsford, Mass.). With 78:07 on the clock, UMass Lowell tallied their final goal of the night when Ferreira lofted the ball deep into the box for Oliveri Jr., who sent the ball into the net to seal the 5-0 decision.
 
Next up, the River Hawks will start conference play when they battle with the NJIT Highlanders on Saturday, September 23. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Lubetkin Field at Mal Simon Stadium.