Players Mentioned
Team Stats
NU
UML
Goals
0
0
Shots
11
12
Shots on Goal
5
4
Saves
4
5
Corners
3
3
Fouls
17
14
Game Leaders
River Hawks Battle To 0-0 Draw Against Northeastern
9/24/2024 8:58:00 PM | Men's Soccer
LOWELL, Mass. – Junior JR Gawel (Leonardtown, Md.) made five saves en route to a shutout, as the UMass Lowell men's soccer team (5-1-3) fought to a 0-0 draw against the Northeastern Huskies (1-4-4) on Tuesday night at Cushing Field.
"It was a good battle," said Head Coach Kyle Zenoni. "I expected us to be a bit rusty in some areas because we've been off for ten days. I obviously played pretty much my whole team, so I expected us to be good and poor in some areas, but Northeastern played well, and it was a good game."
Gawel, who made his eighth start of the season, is now up to three shutouts, the most in his career. Leading the squad in shots were graduate student Guillermo Francés Poquet (Enguera, Valencia) and senior Yanis Lakhlifi (La Crau, France) who each recorded two shots, including one on goal apiece. Junior Junyoung Hwang (Gimpo, South Korea) also recorded two shots in his River Hawk debut.
In the early minutes of the match, both sides battled for possession, with neither team logging a shot. The River Hawks were the first to find an opportunity though, as senior Liam Ireland (Yarmouth, Maine) drilled a shot at the net, but the Huskies keeper kept the ball in front of him to keep things scoreless. The back-and-forth battle continued midway through the half, with freshman Omar Atia (Cairo, Egypt) logging a shot on goal in the 18th minute before the visitors fired off their first two shots on target on the evening. Gawel, however, rejected both opportunities to keep the score knotted at 0-0.
In the 25th minute, UMass Lowell had its best opportunity of the half when junior Patrick Pires (Santo Añtao, Cape Verde) raced down the sideline before dishing out a pass to junior Calvin Scholten (Hengelo, Netherlands). With a defender attempting to dive in front of the ball, Scholten quickly moved before hurdling the opposition, setting him up with space to run outside the box. The Netherlands native then sent a crossing pass into the box for Francés Poquet, who fired off a shot that was blocked, before lacing a second shot at the net that the Huskies goalie made a diving save on to keep the River Hawks off the board. Although the battle continued, neither side found a solid scoring opportunity, sending the game into a scoreless draw at the break.
Coming out of the break, the River Hawks found an opening early, as freshman Santiago Somorrostro (Nashua, N.H.) sent a pass knee-high into the box from the far corner. Rushing in, Hwang jumped up, connecting with his foot for his first career touch, but he sent the ball just over the crossbar. Moments later, Gawel made his best save of the night as the Huskies sent a shot toward the left side of the net from only ten yards out, but the junior keeper sprawled out, barely getting his hand on the ball to punch it out and keep the shutout intact.
In the final 20 minutes of the game, the River Hawks offense showed its resilience, firing off five shots, including three in five minutes. However, Northeastern kept the hosts off the board, sealing the 0-0 decision.
Next up, the River Hawks begin America East play, as they welcome the UAlbany Great Danes to Lowell on Saturday, September 28. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Cushing Field.
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"It was a good battle," said Head Coach Kyle Zenoni. "I expected us to be a bit rusty in some areas because we've been off for ten days. I obviously played pretty much my whole team, so I expected us to be good and poor in some areas, but Northeastern played well, and it was a good game."
Gawel, who made his eighth start of the season, is now up to three shutouts, the most in his career. Leading the squad in shots were graduate student Guillermo Francés Poquet (Enguera, Valencia) and senior Yanis Lakhlifi (La Crau, France) who each recorded two shots, including one on goal apiece. Junior Junyoung Hwang (Gimpo, South Korea) also recorded two shots in his River Hawk debut.
In the early minutes of the match, both sides battled for possession, with neither team logging a shot. The River Hawks were the first to find an opportunity though, as senior Liam Ireland (Yarmouth, Maine) drilled a shot at the net, but the Huskies keeper kept the ball in front of him to keep things scoreless. The back-and-forth battle continued midway through the half, with freshman Omar Atia (Cairo, Egypt) logging a shot on goal in the 18th minute before the visitors fired off their first two shots on target on the evening. Gawel, however, rejected both opportunities to keep the score knotted at 0-0.
In the 25th minute, UMass Lowell had its best opportunity of the half when junior Patrick Pires (Santo Añtao, Cape Verde) raced down the sideline before dishing out a pass to junior Calvin Scholten (Hengelo, Netherlands). With a defender attempting to dive in front of the ball, Scholten quickly moved before hurdling the opposition, setting him up with space to run outside the box. The Netherlands native then sent a crossing pass into the box for Francés Poquet, who fired off a shot that was blocked, before lacing a second shot at the net that the Huskies goalie made a diving save on to keep the River Hawks off the board. Although the battle continued, neither side found a solid scoring opportunity, sending the game into a scoreless draw at the break.
Coming out of the break, the River Hawks found an opening early, as freshman Santiago Somorrostro (Nashua, N.H.) sent a pass knee-high into the box from the far corner. Rushing in, Hwang jumped up, connecting with his foot for his first career touch, but he sent the ball just over the crossbar. Moments later, Gawel made his best save of the night as the Huskies sent a shot toward the left side of the net from only ten yards out, but the junior keeper sprawled out, barely getting his hand on the ball to punch it out and keep the shutout intact.
In the final 20 minutes of the game, the River Hawks offense showed its resilience, firing off five shots, including three in five minutes. However, Northeastern kept the hosts off the board, sealing the 0-0 decision.
Next up, the River Hawks begin America East play, as they welcome the UAlbany Great Danes to Lowell on Saturday, September 28. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Cushing Field.
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