LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Yanis Lakhlifi (La Crau, France) scored the first goal of his career, as the UMass Lowell men's soccer team (2-0-2) fought to a 1-1 draw against the Boston University Terriers (0-0-3) on Sunday night at Cushing Field.
"The guys fought hard," said head coach Kyle Zenoni. "We gave away a goal on what I thought was a poor clearance but the way we fought was good. We had our chances to win the game, I'm pretty pleased. They're a good group, they were in the NCAA tournament last year and won the Patriot League so it's a good sign."
Lakhlifi, whose goal came late in the first half, led the River Hawks with three shots on goal. Junior Iñaki Esnaola (Junin, Argentina) assisted on the goal, tallying his first assist and point of the young season. Senior Shunnosuke Nakajima (Yokohama, Japan) contributed with three shots on the night, while junior JR Gawel (Leonardtown, Md.) made three saves.
The Terriers opened the game aggressively on the offensive end, registering the first shot of the night only two minutes in. The River Hawks, however, began to find their groove, controlling possession and logging the next three shots before the 10-minute mark. Moments later, Boston University raced down the field and attacked, but Gawel made a pair of impressive saves, keeping the game scoreless. The game quickly shifted to a defensive battle, with neither side finding an opportunity until the 25th minute, when the Terriers' Jason Zacarias sent one into the back of the net, giving his team a 1-0 lead.
Despite falling behind early, UMass Lowell didn't back down, immediately retaliating with a ball off the foot of Lakhlifi, but a diving save by the opposing keeper kept it a one-goal game. The relentless attack by the River Hawks continued, and in the 39th minute, they capitalized. Sprinting down the field, Esnaola moved past his defender before dishing a pass to Lakhlifi on the right side of the box. The France native immediately fired, sneaking the ball between the legs of the goaltender to even the score 1-1. The final minutes of the first were a back-and-forth battle, but the score remained the same after the first 45.
Coming out of the break, the level of physicality was taken up a notch, as the two sides combined for a pair of fouls and yellow cards by the 55th minute. Trying to break the tie, UMass Lowell dominated possession, keeping it in the offensive zone as they looked for their chance to strike. With 64:36 on the clock, the Terriers attempted to clear the ball but it was deflected straight to Lakhlifi. The senior scorched a shot from 20 yards out, but the visitor's goalie was able to fall on top of it to prevent his squad from falling behind.
In the final 15 minutes of the match, both teams continued to duke it out, and although both teams combined for five shots over that span, excellent defensive play took over, sealing the 1-1 decision.
Next up, the River Hawks will hit the road to take on the LIU Sharks on Wednesday, September 4. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at LIU Field in Brooklyn, N.Y.
