STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Senior Maddie Guthrie (Stow, Mass.) registered a personal-best three assists, as the UMass Lowell women's soccer team (1-0-0) secured a 4-2 decision against Stony Brook (0-1-0) on Thursday night at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.
"Happy with the team's performance and everybody who chipped in," said Head Coach Mira Novak. "We came to a tough place. The former CAA champions had a lot of returning players for fifth-year's, and they are really strong at home. It's still early into the season, but I think a lot of our young players stepped up today. It's a positive start, and we want to keep the momentum going and push forward."
Guthrie saw the field well all night, contributing to goals from junior Marissa Sage (Milford, N.H.), freshman Anneliese Collin (Portland, Me.) and sophomore Gaby Eckroth (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), while Kiera Fitzpatrick (Methuen, Mass.) also joined Collin in netting her first career goal.
"The mentality of the team was big," said Novak. "We were under it a little bit in the first half towards the end, and we got to halftime 1-0. Eight minutes into the second half we were down 2-1, so not the way we planned it. We didn't fold and we didn't give up. We just found a way to get back into the game, and win it. We show a lot of promise into the season, but it's still very early on."
Sophomore Rachel Welch (Franklin, Mass.) turned in a strong effort in net, as the keeper made a career-high 11 saves.
The home side saw an early chance in the sixth minute, after collecting the ball in the box and ripping a shot at the goal, but Welch jumped in front for the save.
A minute later, the River Hawks received a corner that was taken by Guthrie. The senior then crossed the ball directly into the middle of the box, finding Sage, who connected on a header for the first goal of the game in just the eighth minute.
Staying aggressive in the opening minutes, Eckroth found sophomore Nina Hertz-Saebbö (Gothenburg, Sweden) drifting to the right side of the field to secure the ball and send a shot on net in the ninth minute, but it was handled by the Seawolves' keeper.
In the 41st minute, the River Hawks gained a free kick off a foul, launching the ball into offensive territory, but Stony Brook shut down any opportunities to keep the difference 1-0 at the break.
During the opening minutes of the second half, Hertz-Saebbö looked to increase the lead, firing a shot to the bottom right of the goal, but it was caught by the keeper. Eckroth then responded quickly with a shot of her own from the outer right side of the box, but it was blocked by a Stony Brook defender.
A free kick was awarded to the Seawolves in the 51st minute, setting up the equalizer from Reilly Rich and making it a 1-1 game. Just two minutes later, after a corner kick attempt was blocked by a River Hawk defender, the Seawolves gathered the rebound, and Linn Beck found the bottom left of the goal, giving Stony Brook its first lead of the game in the 53rd minute.
Sophomore Nuala Rodgers (Dedham, Mass.) regained possession around midfield in the 57th minute, finding Fitzpatrick handled the ball down the left side and slipped it between the goalkeeper's legs into the back of the net, evening the score at 2-2.
On a corner kick opportunity in the 66th minute, Guthrie delivered the ball into the box to senior Nadja Andersen (Nakskov, Denmark), who then directed it to Collin for the go-ahead header to make it 3-2.
The River Hawks were not done just yet, as Guthrie curled in a perfect pass off a corner kick in the 82nd minute, giving Eckroth the opportunity to capitalize on a header to the bottom left of the goal, increasing the margin to 4-2.
The Seawolves attempted a late comeback, but Welch stayed aware between the posts, leaping up for a one-handed save towards the top left of the net in the 84th minute, helping her side seal the 4-2 victory at Stony Brook.
Next up, the River Hawks travel to local non-conference opponent Merrimack on Sunday, August 17. The match will begin at 4 p.m. at Martone-Mejail Field in North Andover, Mass.
