LOWELL, Mass. – Freshman Nora Belin (Stockholm, Sweden) scored her fourth goal of the season, as the UMass Lowell women's soccer team (4-5-4) (1-2-2) battled against Maine (2-6-3) (1-2-2) on Thursday night, fighting to a 2-2 draw in their fifth conference game of the season.
"You have two teams who are tied for points right now, and it's going into the last three games of the season," said Head Coach Mira Novak. "This game could've broken some ties and put one team in a better position. I think we are leaving it where we started it. So, I believe every point during any of the season is really important. You look at the standings and the results today and everybody is very close, so every point matters. The team and I feel that we dropped two points today then earned one."
UMass Lowell held a slight edge in total shots, as they took 11 to Maine's 10, while also leading in corners four to one. Junior Luka Marceau (Newton, Mass.) also recorded a goal during the match, with redshirt-freshman Nina Hertz-Saebbö (Gothenburg, Sweden) and senior Nadja Andersen (Nakskov, Denmark) each registering an assist on the goal. Sophomore Gaby Eckroth (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) tallied her first assist of the season on Belin's goal, with sophomore Rachel Welch (Franklin, Mass.) holding it down in net, collecting three saves on the day.
The Black Bears came out firing, striking a shot on net in the first minute of play, but Welch started strong, making a save at the bottom left of the goal. The River Hawks offered their first shot on goal in the 16th minute, with freshman Anneliese Collin (Portland, Me.) seeing an opening, but the visiting keeper stepped up to turn it down. In the 24th minute, a great opportunity was set up for freshman Emma Theorén (Sollentuna, Vällingby) down the right side, but the Black Bears' defense remained locked in, as the keeper was there to make a big save, keeping the score equal at 0-0.
Just minutes later, the River Hawks capitalized, as Eckroth dribbled the ball down the left of the box, passing it to Belin in the middle, who put the finishing touch on the ball, giving the River Hawks an early 1-0 lead in the 27th minute. UMass Lowell took two more shots during the rest of the first half, but were unable to add a second score, entering the break with a 1-0 advantage over the Black Bears.
Senior Kirti Craig (Spotswood, N.J.) started the half hot, stroking a shot on goal in the first minute, but the Black Bears' keeper held her own once again, collecting a save on the play. Although Welch made a save in the 52nd minute, the Black Bears quickly responded after junior Grace Johnson launched the ball from deep outside the box in the 57th minute, netting Maine's first goal of the game to even the score at 1-1.
The River Hawks saw a chance to regain the lead in the 73rd minute, with Eckroth gathering the ball and striking it to the bottom left of the goal, but the keeper was in front to make another stop. A couple of minutes later, Andersen soared the ball down the right side to Hertz-Saebbö, directing it to Marceau in the middle of the box, who ripped a shot that hit the back of the net in the 77th minute, putting the hosts back on top, 2-1.
With time slowly fading for the Black Bears, they found one last chance at an equalizer, scoring the game-tying goal in the 84th minute, sealing the 2-2 decision.
The River Hawks hit the road this weekend to take on the Vermont Catamounts, this Sunday, October 19. The game is set to kickoff at 12:00 p.m. at Virtue Field in Burlington, Vermont.
