LOWELL, Mass. – On a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon, senior Emma Mitchell (West Orange, N.J.) and senior Hope Santaniello (Agawam, Mass.) recorded a goal apiece to lift UMass Lowell (2-9-2, 1-3-0 AE) past Vermont (7-4-3, 2-3-0 AE), 2-0, in America East play at Cushing Field on Sunday afternoon.

The River Hawks dedicated this contest to Breast Cancer Awareness for all of those who are affected.

"The win feels good, it was a long time coming. I'm really happy that we won today and the effort we put in today was worth the result," said Head Coach Mira Novak. "We haven't had the early lead too much this year, it's a big thing. When you're playing a goal up, you're a little bit more confident and you don't have to rush things forward as much. It was great being in that position early on and getting the second goal was huge for us, giving us a little bit more room to breathe."

To complete the shutout, graduate student Taylor Burgess (Mendon, Mass.) made nine saves in net for the River Hawks.

Mitchell, senior Laura Cetina (A Coruña, Galicia, Spain), and sophomore Luka Marceau (Newton, Mass.) all tallied two shots on the day.

Vermont outshot UMass Lowell, 22-11, but was not able to sneak past Burgess.

The River Hawks quickly took control of the first half, as they had a solid stretch of shots early on. In the ninth minute, Cetina had a chance as she received the ball from a throw-in and squared up to the net, sending the ball on target, but the keeper was able to make the save. Up next, Marceau collected a pass from graduate student Calliste Brookshire (Kingston, Mass.) in the 13^th minute and ripped a shot, but it was blocked by a Catamount defender.

The River Hawks continued to pressure the Catamounts' defense, as sophomore Marissa Sage (Milford, N.H.) sent a powerful shot just over the net on a corner kick opportunity in the 14^th minute. To follow, junior Hilary Jaén (Las Margaritas, Panama) passed across the field to the top of the box to Marceau, who quickly drew a defender, but located Mitchell on the right side to drill a shot in the 22^nd minute.  

UMass Lowell was due for a goal after multiple tests on Vermont's keeper. Brookshire then facilitated the ball to Mitchell, who dribbled to the box to fire the into the top right corner of the net in the 28^th minute, recording her first career goal as a defender and taking the lead for UMass Lowell, 1-0.

Pressure from the River Hawks continued, as Cetina notched a shot on net in the 29^th minute.

UMass Lowell was eager for more, now that the floodgate had been opened early in the first. Junior Megan Banzi (Plymouth, Mass.) booted the ball up to junior Kirti Craig (Spotswood, N.J.) on the left side of the turf, who then sent a perfect ball ahead of Santaniello. Santaniello gathered the pass, as she broke by a Catamount defender and dribbled her way to the keeper to finish with a swift goal at the 42^nd-minute mark and make it 2-0 River Hawks. This marked her first goal of the season.

Coming out from halftime, UMass Lowell continued to hunt for another goal, while Vermont was anxious to make a comeback, with 14 of their shots coming from the second half.

The River Hawks pushed up the field, as senior Lærke Niklasson (Roskilde, Denmark) crossed the ball, finding the head of a diving Marceau, but she was not able to get enough of her body behind it, sending the ball trickling left of the post in the 66^th minute.

From this point on, Vermont would hold UMass Lowell to one shot, as they would total six of their own.

The Catamounts' final honest chance was in the last minute on a penalty kick generated by a handball. Bailey Ayer of Vermont would take the kick, but missed left of the goal.

UMass Lowell snapped their six-game losing streak, earning a well-deserved conference win this afternoon.

The River Hawks will continue their homestand at Cushing Field on Thursday, October 17, kicking off at 6 p.m. versus New Hampshire and welcoming all faculty and staff for an appreciation night.