BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – The UMass Lowell (4-9-3, 3-3-1 AE) women's soccer team put away three goals in the second half to force at draw at Binghamton (6-5-4, 3-2-2 AE), 3-3, in America East action at the Bearcat Sports Complex on Sunday afternoon.  

"This is a hard place to play. We respect Binghamton and the progression they have shown through the season has been amazing," said Head Coach Mira Novak. "Unfortunately, we didn't have the start that we wanted and made mistakes that allowed them to get in and score three goals. I'm very proud of the team for stepping up in the second half. We made some adjustments resulting in a good second half," added Novak. 

Senior Emma Mitchell (West Orange, N.J.), senior Laura Cetina (A Coruña, Galicia, Spain), and graduate student Calliste Brookshire (Kingston, Mass.) were the offensive threats today, recording a goal apiece.

Brookshire and Cetina led the team with two shots each, as Binghamton outshot UMass Lowell 10-9.  

Graduate student Taylor Burgess (Mendon, Mass.) received the start in net for the River Hawks, making four saves. Freshman Rachel Welch (Franklin, Mass.) got the nod for the second half, resulting in a quiet 45 minutes with no goals allowed.

The contest was quickly underway as Binghamton earned back-to-back goals in the ninth and 14th minutes, credited to Anna Buckwalter and Megan Baker.  

Now desperate for an offensive chance, Cetina ripped a shot just over the crossbar in the 18th minute. However, the Bearcats continued with their momentum, scoring the third goal of the afternoon in the 25th minute by Mackenzie Ryder.  

UMass Lowell came out strong in the second half, making modifications and keeping level heads to score two goals just four minutes apart and chip away at the lead.  

Mitchell would score the first River Hawk goal in the 49th minute, as she launched the ball from far out and sent it into the top left corner of the net. Up next was Cetina with a tally, as freshman Gaby Eckroth (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) made a precise pass to her inside of the box in the 53rd minute, setting Cetina up to finish with a goal. 

The River Hawks kept fighting for more, as sophomore Eliana Parreira (Chelmsford, Mass.) tried for a goal at the 85th-minute mark, heading the ball inches away from the post.  

Brookshire followed with the tying goal in the 88th minute, when she ripped the ball from the top left corner of the box, sending in the third River Hawk goal to knot the score at 3-3.  

"I think in these types of games sometimes the will and ability to control emotions is more important than just pure skill and I'm just glad that we were able to show that today, finishing the game 3-3 and earning a point. It was a full team effort, all 22 players got on the field and contributed to this result. I'm proud of the team and I think this shows a lot of potential. We can play with anybody, anywhere. Thursday, we want to put in a little bit more for a complete performance because 45 minutes is not good enough, as it almost cost us the game, but I am happy with the team and with the result because of the effort they showed," said Novak. 

With this tie, the River Hawks clinched a spot in the America East Championship Tournament, beginning Sunday, November 3. 

UMass Lowell heads home for their final regular season match versus Bryant at Cushing Field on Halloween, October 31, with a 7 p.m. kickoff for Senior Night.