LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Hope Santaniello (Agawam, Mass.) and freshman Mia Eva Girgis (Montreal, Quebec) combined for a pair of goals to lift the UMass Lowell women's soccer team (6-9-3, 4-3-1 AE) past Bryant (8-9-4, 3-4-1 AE), 2-1, in the America East Quarterfinals at Cushing Field on Sunday afternoon.
"We had a great start today, obviously scored a goal early, so that always helps," said Head Coach Mira Novak. "In the last 15 minutes of the first half, when they scored the goal, I thought they were playing well causing trouble and we were pretty happy to survive it. Credit to Byrant for adjusting with their game plan, based on what happened on Thursday. I think the mentality that we had of just having to deal with the game as things came up was really good. I think the fact that we hosted a home game here and had a fantastic crowd really helped us."
Graduate student Taylor Burgess (Mendon, Mass.) made eight saves between the posts tonight for the River Hawks.
Bryant outshot UMass Lowell, 20-15, with graduate student Calliste Brookshire (Kingston, Mass.) leading the River Hawks with three attempts.
The first half was quickly underway, as sophomore Marissa Sage (Milford, N.H.) sent the ball upfield, connecting with junior Hilary Jaén (Las Margaritas, Panama). Senior Hope Santaniello (Agawam, Mass.) raced by all the Bulldog defenders, grabbing the pass from Jaén to find the bottom right corner of the net and give UMass Lowell the early, 1-0 lead on the first play of the game.
UMass Lowell continued to pressure Bryant, as Jaén earned a shot of her own in the fourth minute, but it was collected by the keeper. In the 25th minute, the River Hawks continued to be aggressive, firing three shots in a row from senior Laura Cetina (A Coruña, Galicia, Spain), Santanillo and Brookshire.
Bryant received a throw-in on the right sideline close to its net in the 36th minute, which was taken by Madison Luke. Catherine Bean absorbed the pass and shuffled the ball to Jordyn Collins, who snuck in a goal to even the score 1-1.
UMass Lowell would try to answer back before the break with Girgis releasing a shot on target, but it was saved by the keeper to send the teams into halftime knotted at 1-1.
The River Hawks continued to pressure to start the second half, as Sage sent a cross into the box and found the foot of Brookshire, who got off the shot just in time before falling out of bounds. However, her athletic attempt was saved by a defender in goal despite the Bulldogs' keeper being on the ground.
Next, freshman Nuala Rogers (Dedham, Mass.) took a shot in the 57th minute, but it also fell into the hands of the keeper. This was followed by three consecutive Bryant shots in the 58th minute, although the River Hawks were able to get their body in front of each to block the Bulldogs from reaching Burgess.
It was now time for a shot by senior Emma Mitchell (West Orange, N.J.), who ripped the ball on target, but right to the hands of the keeper at the 60th-minute mark.
In the 67th minute, a Bryant defender made an accidental shot on her own keeper, with Girgis picking up the rebound and tapping in the goal to put the River Hawks back in front, 2-1.
UMass Lowell took two more shots in the remaining minutes, first from Mitchell, who hit the post with her shot in the 70th minute and then from senior Lærke Niklasson (Roskilde, Denmark), whose ball curved off target in the 84th minute.
The River Hawks held off the Bulldogs in the waning minutes to secure the 2-1 victory.
With this win, UMass Lowell will travel to take on No. 1 Maine in the America East Semifinals at Mahaney Diamond on Thursday, November 7 kicking off at 6 p.m.
