LOWELL, Mass. – Making their first playoff appearance since 2019, the No. 6 UMass Lowell men's soccer team (7-6-3, 2-3-2 AE) once again hits the road to take on No. 3 UAlbany (5-6-5, 3-2-2 AE) in the America East Quarterfinals on Saturday, November 8. Opening kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Bob Ford Field.

LAST TIME OUT
The River Hawks enter Saturday coming off a 1-1 draw against the Great Danes on Tuesday night. Against UAlbany, junior Ethan Young (Kansas City, Mo.) scored his first goal as a River Hawk, while also leading the team with three shots and two shots on goal. Jean Leonardo (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Matteo Costa (Frankfurt am Main, Germany) each tallied an assist on the goal, marking the first assists of the year for both. Senior Oliver Holmstrom (Gävle, Sweden) added two shots, while graduate student Jorge Ortega (Tijuana, B.C., Mexico) and freshman Alvaro Medrano (Guatemala City, Guatemala) each played 45 minutes in net.

LEADING THE FLOCK
Entering the playoffs, redshirt sophomore Justin Pham (Liverpool, N.Y.) leads the team with six points off two goals and two assists. Behind him, Musielak totals two goals and an assist for five points, while senior Junyoung Hwang (Gimpo, South Korea), sophomore Henry Wohlt (Milwaukee, Wis.), junior Ethan Agyare-Danso (Etobicoke, Canada), Holmstrom, Costa and Young each tally a goal and an assist. Sophomore Cristiano Da Silva (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) is tied with Pham and graduate student Shunnouke Nakajima (Yokohama, Japan) for the team lead with two assists, while four other River Hawks total two points. Senior Iñaki Esnaola (Junin, Argentina) and Nakajima represent the two River Hawks to start in 15 of the team's 16 games. In net, the River Hawks have split time between two goalies, with freshman Alvaro Medrano (Guatemala City, Guatemala) making 37 saves and allowing 10 goals in seven starts, while graduate student Jorge Ortega (Tijuana, B.C., Mexico) has made 13 saves and allowed 10 goals in nine starts, including posting a stretch of three straight shutouts.

POSTSEASON BOUND
For the first time under Head Coach Kyle Zenoni, the River Hawks clinched a playoff berth ahead of the regular season finale on Tuesday night. The last time the team competed in the postseason was in 2019, when they upset UAlbany, 1-0, in the America East Quarterfinals before falling to #1 New Hampshire in the semifinals. If the River Hawks win on Saturday, they will head to Rhode Island to take on #2 Bryant in the America East Semifinals Tuesday night.

SHUTOUT STREAK
Ahead of the season, Coach Zenoni emphasized the need for good defensive play to find success in conference play. So far, so good, as the River Hawks posted clean sheets in three straight conference matches, the longest shutout streak by the team since recording five straight during the 2019 season, and the longest streak in conference play since posting three straight to close out the 2017 season.

RAPID FIRE RIVER HAWKS
So far this season, the River Hawks have excelled at jumping in front early of the opposition, scoring the first goal of the game in all seven of their wins. Even more impressive, in three of those wins, they've found the back of the net in less than five minutes. Most recently, Hwang opened the scoring with 4:58 on the clock against CCSU, and although Pham scored the game-winner against Merrimack just over three minutes in, his earliest goal of the year came in the season opener when he struck against Saint Peter's with 1:21 on the clock.

HOT HAND IN NET
In their first years at UMass Lowell, the River Hawks' goalkeeping duo has made their names known. Medrano, who has earned the start in seven of the team's 16 games, has compiled a 4-2-1 record while posting a .787 save percentage. Ortega, meanwhile, has earned the start in the team's last six games, posting three clean sheets to help the team earn seven points in conference play. On the season, the graduate student has allowed 10 goals in nine games for a 1.18 goals against average.

WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
In week eight, after playing the entire game and serving as a key member of the defense that held #2 Vermont scoreless at home for the first time since 2022, Nakajima was tabbed the America East Defensive Player of the Week. The award marks the fourth of the year for the River Hawks, as only a week prior, after making his fourth career start and playing all 90 minutes while helping hold Binghamton scoreless and without a shot on target, sophomore Aamir Ketbache (Frankfurt am Main, Germany) was named the America East Defensive Player of the Week. Earlier in the season, Medrano was named both the America East Defensive Player and Rookie of the Week in week two after making 11 saves without allowing a goal in his first two collegiate appearances. Not only did the two awards mark the first for UMass Lowell on the season, but it is the first time a River Hawk has earned both awards in the same week.

FRESH FACES 
Five of the newest River Hawks have made at least 14 appearances so far this season, with two earning at least 10 starts. Eight of the team's 15 goals have come off the foot of a newcomer, while four newcomers have accumulated at least 750 minutes of playtime.

CONFERENCE RANKINGS
Entering Thursday morning, the America East is ranked as one of the best conferences in the nation, as it is the only conference with two teams in the top five of the RPI. Although Vermont, Bryant, and UAlbany are ahead of the River Hawks, UMass Lowell is the next highest-ranked team in the conference, sitting at 105th in the RPI out of over 200 teams.

SCOUTING THE GREAT DANES
After battling to a 1-1 draw against the River Hawks Tuesday night, UAlbany finished conference play with a 3-2-2 record, good for third in the standings. Leading the way for the team offensively is Ivar Gissuararson, who totals four goals and two assists for ten points in 15 games. Behind him, Rodrigo Hermelo and Alexander Clive sit tied second with two goals and three assists for seven points, while 10 other Great Danes have at least two points. In net, three goaltenders have seen time, with Andrej Krivokapic playing the most, earning 11 starts while allowing 10 goals, good for a .762 save percentage with a total of 32 saves.

MATCHUP HISTORY
UMass Lowell and UAlbany have faced off 15 times, with UAlbany holding a slight, 7-6-2 edge. Though the two sides fought to a 1-1 draw earlier this week, last year the two teams battled at Lowell, where the River Hawks earned a 2-0 win to open conference play.