LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore Cristiano Da Silva (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) logged two shots on goal, as the UMass Lowell men's soccer team (1-1-0) fell to the LIU Sharks (1-0-1), 1-0, in a hard-fought defensive battle on Sunday afternoon.
 

"Obviously a disappointing result," commented Head Coach Kyle Zenoni. "They are really well coached, I think Mike does a really good job. They're a NCAA tournament team because they don't give up a whole lot. That's what they did. I thought we played pretty well for most of the game. We had an error at the end there, and that's what happens in a game like this."
 

Da Silva was one of five River Hawks with multiple shots. Junior Ethan Agyare-Danso (Etobicoke, Canada) also had a shot on goal. Senior Iñaki Esnaola (Junin, Argentina), redshirt sophomore Justin Pham (Liverpool, N.Y.), and junior Linus Musielak (Dortmund, Germany) each had two shots. Senior Oscar Perez (Sagunto, Spain) added another shot.
 

The game opened with both sides emphasizing defense, with neither team posting a shot in the first ten minutes. The River Hawks, however, continued to push the ball down the field before finally getting their first opportunity of the match in the 13th minute. Moving the ball down the right side of the field, UMass Lowell launched the ball towards the net, and although the opposition was able to head it away, Da Silva gathered the ball just outside the box and launched a shot on target, but a save by the Sharks' keeper kept the game scoreless early. The back-and-forth battle continued, and although UMass Lowell held a 3-2 shot advantage 20 minutes in, neither side could find the back of the net.
 

After a shot by the Sharks at 21:25 went wide of the net, the hosts did a good job of taking control of possession, with Esnaola ripping a shot just over the crossbar only moments later.  The defensive battle continued through the remainder of the half, with neither side recording another shot, leading to a 0-0 score at the half.
 

Coming out of the break, both teams started to find their footing offensively, and despite the Sharks putting together three straight shots in seven minutes, UMass Lowell's defense was up to the challenge, preventing any of the shots from reaching the net. The River Hawks were quick to counter, stringing together a trio of shots of their own, including two off the foot of Pham, but two went wide while the opposing keeper made a save to keep the hosts from taking the lead.
 

In the 70th minute, UMass Lowell nearly jumped in front, as Musielak sent a rocket from beyond the box, but the ball just clipped off the top bar. Moments later, another opportunity was presented to the River Hawks, with Agyare-Danso on a breakaway, but an excellent save by the Sharks' netminder once again kept the game scoreless. Minutes later, LIU found their next opportunity, scoring in the 82nd minute to take a late 1-0 lead. The hosts continued to battle for the final eight minutes, but were unable to register another shot, sealing the 1-0 decision.
 

Next up, the River Hawks hit the road for one of the longest trips of the season, beginning with a match at Houston Christian in Houston, Texas. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at Sorrels Field.