LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell men's soccer team (2-3-2, 0-1-0 AE) hits the road to take on the #14 Vermont Catamounts (6-1-2, 1-0-0 AE) at Virtue Field on Saturday, September 30 at 1 p.m.
  
September 30 at Vermont (1:00 p.m.)
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LAST TIME OUT
The River Hawks enter Saturday's match coming off a 4-1 in the conference opener against NJIT. Sophomore Oliver Holmstrom (Gävle, Sweden) tallied the lone goal for the River Hawks, while sophomore Calvin Scholten (Hengelo, Netherlands) led the squad with three shots, including one on goal. Behind him, graduate student Denis Petro (Michalovce, Slovakia) and junior Shunnosuke Nakajima (Yokohama, Japan) added two shots and a shot on goal each. In net, junior Adam Henry (Fort Myers, Fl.) made three saves in 90 minutes.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Junior Guillermo Francés Poquet (Enguera, Valencia) currently leads the River Hawks with four goals and eight points on the season. Tied for second on the team, Holmstrom and freshman Daniele Mastroianni (Montréal, Quebec) each have three goals for six total points. Leading the squad in assists are Scholten and graduate student Javier Torres (Málaga, Spain) with two each. In net, junior Adam Henry (Fort Myers, Fl.) has made 14 saves in five appearances, good for a 1.80 goals against average.

FRESH FACES
Eleven of the newest members of the squad have made at least one appearance in the first seven games, including eight who have started in at least five matches. Of the newest River Hawks, Matroianni leads in scoring with six points, while Scholten adds two points, and junior Santiago Delfino (Cordoba, Argentina) adds a goal of his own.

CONFERENCE HONORS
Following his impressive performance against Northeastern, Mastroianni was named the America East Rookie of the Week on September 5. The award marked the first of the rookie's young career and the first for a River Hawk this season. 
 
AMERICA EAST CONFERENCE
This week, the NCAA Men's Soccer RPI ranked the America East as the third strongest conference in the country, only behind the Pac-12 and the ACC. The conference also is one of only two conferences with five schools in the RPI top 50, alongside the ACC.
 
SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS
Vermont welcome UMass Lowell to Virtue Field following a 1-1 draw against Massachusetts. In their conference opener, the Catamounts took down Bryant, 1-0. Senior midfielder Carter Johnson leads Vermont's offense with three goals and three assists for nine total points. Forward Yaniv Bazini is right behind him, totaling three goals and two assists. In net, Owen Jack has started in all nine games, totaling 23 saves, alongside five shutouts, for a 0.44 goals against average, which ranks second in America East.

MATCHUP HISTORY
Saturday's match against Vermont will mark the 12th time the teams have faced off, with the Catamounts holding a 6-2-3 advantage. When the two squads faced off at Cushing Field during the 2022 season, the Catamounts earned a 4-0 victory.
 
A WIN WOULD 
A win against the Catamounts would be the third in the series for UMass Lowell and the first since a 2-0 win in 2018. If the River Hawks claim victory in the match, they would move to an overall record of 3-3-2 and would start conference play 1-1-0 for the first time since 2021.