BURLINGTON, Vt. – Junior Justin Milovanov (Sheepshead Bay, N.Y.) tallied his first goal as a River Hawk as the UMass Lowell men's soccer team (2-4-2, 0-2-0 AE) fell to the #14 Vermont Catamounts (7-1-2, 2-0-0 AE), 2-1, on Saturday afternoon at Virtue Field.

"It was a good battle and our guys fought hard," said Head Coach Kyle Zenoni. "I thought we limited their chances and created some good opportunities of our own. Vermont is well coached and a top-15 team in the country. Today when they went up we could have buckled, but we didn't and we pressed the game a bit and created some good goal scoring opportunities. We still have so much to play for, and today was an encouraging sign that we can compete with anyone in the country. The goal is to get in the conference tournamnet and go from there, and that is still possible."

Alongside scoring the lone goal for the River Hawks, Milovanov filled up the box score, leading the squad with three shots, including two on goal, in a full 90 minutes of action. Behind him on the shot chart were both sophomore Iñaki Esnaola (Junin, Argentina) and sophomore Liam Ireland (Yarmouth, Maine), who each tallied two shots, including one on goal. In net, junior Adam Henry (Fort Myers, Fl.) made seven saves, setting a new personal best.

The River Hawks came out aggressive, looking to strike early against the conference foe. Only two minutes in, junior Guillermo Francés Poquet (Enguera, Valencia) sent a corner kick into the box to set up freshman Daniele Mastroianni (Montréal, Quebec), who sent a rocket just wide of the net. After two big saves by Henry kept the game scoreless, the River Hawks found another opportunity, as Milovanov launched a low shot at the net, but a diving effort by the hosts' netminder kept the board even.

The first half continued to be a back-and-forth battle, with the Catamounts holding a 6-4 edge in shots with five minutes to play. After Henry made a leaping save to tip the ball over the crossbar, Vermont lined up for a corner kick with three minutes until the break. The hosts sent the corner straight into the box for Jake Ashford, who headed the ball into the back of the net to give his team a 1-0 lead heading into the locker room.

At the start of the second half, Vermont dominated possession time, firing off three shots in the opening ten minutes. The UMass Lowell defense was up to the challenge, coming up with multiple big stops to keep it a one-goal game. However, in the 60th minute, a foul set up the Catamounts with a free kick just outside the box, which they quickly capitalized on with a shot into the top left of the net to double their lead.

In the 72nd minute, the River Hawks found an opportunity to get on the board and were sure to take advantage of it. After a Catamount defender attempted to head the ball out of the UMass Lowell attacking zone, Milovanov intercepted the loose ball and used his chest to settle it before launching a strike past the diving keeper and into the goal. The goal marked the first of the season for the junior, and was only the second goal surrendered by the Catamounts on their home turf this year. 

Following the goal, the River Hawks found a handful of shots, stringing together five straight, including two on target. Despite the aggressiveness, the Catamounts fended off the attacks, sealing the 2-1 final score. 

Next up, the River Hawks take on non-conference opponent Holy Cross on Tuesday, October 3. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at the Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium in Worcester, Massachusetts.