BOSTON, Mass. – Freshman Gaby Eckroth (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) recorded her first collegiate goal to help UMass Lowell (1-1-0) take down Boston University (0-2-1), 1-0, at Nickerson Field on Thursday evening.
"I think it's always hard to play on the road and it's always hard to play here," said Head Coach Mira Novak. "I think BU is a very good technical team. They're really quick in terms of how they build out and find free players, but that was something that we had to deal with today. I think it was a typical away game. We had to sit back a little bit and soak up the pressure, but we didn't break, so I was pretty happy with the determination of the team."
Although the Terriers took a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal in the contest, the River Hawks made their chances count. Eckroth's goal marked the River Hawks' first tally of the 2024 season, while senior Kelli Buckley (Shrewsbury, Mass.) logged the assist. In net, graduate student Taylor Burgess (Mendon, Mass.) registered six saves for her first shutout of the season.
The Terriers controlled play for the majority of the first 45 minutes, taking five corners. The River Hawks remained calm, defending well while trying to find their way into the Terriers' zone.
Heading into halftime, the score remained 0-0 with Boston University outshooting UMass Lowell on goal, 5-2. Senior Laura Cetina (A Coruña, Galicia, Spain) and graduate student Calliste Brookshire (Kingston, Mass.) accounted for the attempts on target for the visitors.
In the second half, UMass Lowell came out strong, showing sharp passing to push past the BU defense. The defining moment came in the 72nd minute, generated by a corner. Eckroth was able to get ahold of the ball trickling into the box from Buckley to then tap in the lone goal of the night.
The River Hawks' back line made a handful of large stops, including senior Emma Mitchell (West Orange, N.J.), junior Hilary Jaen (Las Margaritas, Panama), junior Megan Banzi (Plymouth, Mass.), and sophomore Eliana Parreira (Chelmsford, Mass.), combining to hold the Terriers' to just one shot on goal in the second half.
Novak played 23 River Hawks this evening, sharing the wealth throughout the bench.
"We talked before the game about seizing the moment and finding a way to execute in the moment, and I was happy that we were able to capitalize and happy for Gabby as a freshman to open her scoring account today. I hope it's the first one of many," added Novak.
The River Hawks continue their road swing, heading to Holy Cross on Sunday, August 25 to take on the Crusaders at Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium with kickoff set 1 p.m.
