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Men's Soccer
MSOC Preseason Huddle

River Hawks Ready to Take On 2024 Season

8/21/2024 1:00:00 PM

LOWELL, Mass. - As the summer comes to an end, the UMass Lowell men’s soccer team is ready to get back in action and kick off the 2024 season. Led by third-year head coach Kyle Zenoni, the River Hawks will look to build off previous seasons as they hope to take the next step and earn their spot in the conference tournament. The team will kick off the 2024 campaign on Thursday, August 22, when they take on 2023 Patriot League runner-up Lafayette.

I’m super excited. The guys have come in fit, and I think everyone is hungry. Now we’re starting to see, from the spring to the fall, we’re starting to turn the corner. Not only that, but it’s a great group of guys. It’s a diverse group, and it’s a lot of fun to work with these different cultures and people.
Head Coach Kyle Zenoni
MSOC Preseason vs BC

With so many new faces to the program, the River Hawks will look to their veterans to lead them through the season. Graduate student Guillermo Francés Poquet (Enguera, Valencia) returns for his fifth season, while senior Jonathan Ferreira (Ashland, Mass.) enters his fourth year at UMass Lowell. Alongside them, seniors Kotaro Natsume (Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan), Rui Aoki (Hyogo, Japan), Santiago Delfino (Cordoba, Argentina), Shunnosuke Nakajima (Yokohama, Japan), Yanis Lakhlifi (La Crau, France), and Adam Henry (Fort Myers, Fl.) will all help guide the team in their second years as River Hawks.

 

“We have a lot of veterans,” commented Zenoni. “They all have to step up and be a leader at some point and take care of the new guys, and they’ve done a great job with that.”

Guillermo Francés Poquet
Jonathan Ferreira
Shunnosuke Nakajima
Yanis Lakhlifi

Over the summer, Zenoni announced the addition of 12 new members to his team, including four transfers and eight freshmen. The group, which brings a mix of experience and new energy, further expands on the already diverse roster, adding players from Germany, Canada, Egypt, Brazil, Argentina, and South Korea, as well as from all over the United States. 

 

“The new guys are adapting well," said Zenoni. "They bring a lot of energy that makes everyone better. I think when you have everyone pushing each other, you get better, and that’s ultimately our goal as a group.” 

Matteo Costa
Jean Leonardo
Junyoung Hwang
JR Gawel
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2024 Men's Soccer Schedule

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After opening up the season versus Lafayette, the River Hawks will celebrate Senior Day on Sunday, August 25 against CCSU, before hitting the road for the first time on August 29 to battle Saint Peter’s. The month of September will see UMass Lowell play seven games, including home matches with Boston University (Sep. 1) and Holy Cross (Sep. 7), as well as road games against local rivals Massachusetts (Sep. 11) and Merrimack (Sep. 14).

Santiago Delfino vs. Merrimack (2023)
Mauro Fernandez vs. Merrimack (2023)

The River Hawks will start America East action on Saturday, September 28, when they host the UAlbany Great Danes. October consists of only four games for UMass Lowell, taking on UMBC (Oct. 5) and Binghamton (Oct. 19) on the road, while welcoming Bryant (Oct. 12) and NJIT (Oct. 26) to town. The regular season ends with back-to-back games against teams featured in the National Rankings Preseason Poll. Vermont visits Lowell on November 1, before the River Hawks head to New Hampshire on November 5 to wrap up conference play.

 

“America East is a top conference in the country," added Zenoni. "It’s an awesome conference to be a part of. It’s a hard conference to be a part of because you can be really really good, but just that day not be good enough. I have a lot of respect for our conference, and the coaches and the teams.”

UMass Lowell Men’’s Soccer takes on Drexel at Cushing Field Complex in Lowell, Massachusetts on September 12, 2023 (Photo by Leanna Puccio/Umass Lowell)
UMass Lowell Men’’s Soccer takes on Drexel at Cushing Field Complex in Lowell, Massachusetts on September 12, 2023 (Photo by Leanna Puccio/Umass Lowell)
We want to compete for a championship. We’re at the point now where we should compete, and that’s our goal. Last year we were missing a couple of pieces, but this year we have those pieces, so I’m excited to see what we do.
Coach Zenoni