NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Redshirt freshman Nina Hertz-Saebbö (Gothenburg, Sweden) registered her first collegiate points, as UMass Lowell (1-1-0) dropped a hard-fought, 2-1 contest against local rival Merrimack (1-0-1) on Sunday, August 17 at Martone-Mejail Field.
"Not a great result today, and not the best performance in the second half," said Head Coach Mira Novak. "In the first half, despite it being too hot, we managed the game pretty well, and were able to find open spaces. We weren't as effective as we would've liked to be in the final phase. The second half started well, but then it went downhill. We weren't able to control the ball, we'd get pushed inside our box, and allowed Merrimack to score two goals. The second one was unfortunate because it's a ball that we gave away, and basically created the goal for them. Not the way we wanted to finish today in a rivalry game, but after the high from Thursday, it's definitely a low for us."
Freshman Emma Theorén (Sollentuna, Vällingby) added her first assist on Hertz-Saebbö's first goal. Sophomore Rachel Welch (Franklin, Mass.) registered six saves in net. The Warriors took just a slight advantage on chances, outshooting the River Hawks 17-15.
The River Hawks offered an attempt within the first two minutes, as senior Kirti Craig (Spotswood, N.J.) fired a shot that went wide left of the post. Craig saw another opportunity in the 11th minute, but that ball went high left. A goal kick from the Warriors was then possessed by the River Hawks, allowing sophomore Gaby Eckroth (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) to take control of the ball and send a chance into the lower right of the net, but the opposing keeper came up with a good stop.
Theorén kept pushing the ball, putting it in the perfect spot down the right side of the field for Hertz-Saebbö to gather it and advance past a defender before firing on target to give UMass Lowell a 1-0 edge in the 16th minute.
The Warriors soon answered in the 28th minute, though, on a shot from Isabella Keogh that hit the back center of the net, tying the game at 1-1.
Searching for a response, the River Hawks saw a chance in the 38th minute, after senior Hilary Jaén (Las Margaritas, Panama) drifted the ball down the field and delivered it to junior Franzisca Sinclair (Frankfurt, Germany), who waited for an opening, striking the ball right off the left post.
The second half got rolling with Eckroth racing down the field, launching a shot from the left of the box in the 49th minute, but it soared high over the goal. The River Hawks received a free kick in the 54th minute. On that play, senior Maddie Guthrie (Stow, Mass.) found senior Maija Hodson (Sault Saint Marie, Ontario) after she cut through the middle, tapping the ball on goal, but it was saved directly in the middle by the keeper.
In the 69th minute, the River Hawks moved the ball to the offensive zone, as junior Marissa Sage (Milford, N.H.) ripped a shot, but it sailed left of the goal.
Merrimack remained patient, taking advantage of a chance in the 71st minute when Kyra Whitman located Kellianne Caldwell, who struck a shot from the right side that Welch would make a great stretch towards, but was unable to save, creating a 2-1 difference.
As time was fading, the River Hawks saw one last opportunity with freshman Nora Belin (Stockholm, Sweden) dribbling the ball up the middle and crossing it left to Jaén for a powerful shot that missed high left of the net in the 86th minute. The Warriors then used up the rest of the clock, sealing the 2-1 decision on Sunday afternoon.
The River Hawks make their way back home this week for the team's home opener on Thursday, August 21 against Idaho. Kickoff is set for 7:15 p.m. at Cushing Field in Lowell, Mass.
"We have three days to get ready for Idaho and pick it up," said Novak. "I do want to see a response from the team, how they deal with the setback, and how much this matters to them because I felt towards the end of the game that we almost gave up on it a little bit too early. I know we have more in us, and know what the potential of the team is. It was just a little disappointing that we weren't able to show that today."
