LOWELL, Mass. – Coming off a 1-1 week to open the season, the UMass Lowell men's soccer team (1-1-0) travels south for the first road trip of the season when they battle Houston Christian (1-0-0) on Thursday, August 28, before visiting the University of the Incarnate Word (1-1-0) on Sunday, August 31.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The River Hawks enter Thursday's match after falling to LIU, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon. In the battle against the Sharks, sophomore Cristiano Da Silva (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) led the way for the offense, logging two shots, both on target. Behind him, junior Ethan Agyare-Danso (Etobicoke, Canada) also had a shot on goal, while senior Iñaki Esnaola (Junin, Argentina), junior Linus Musielak (Dortmund, Germany), and redshirt sophomore Justin Pham (Liverpool, N.Y.) all had two shots apiece.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through two games, Pham and Musielak each tally one goal to lead the squad, while senior Junyoung Hwang (Gimpo, South Korea) paces the team with an assist. Although four members of the team total four shots, Da Silva and senior Calvin Scholten (Hengelo, Netherlands) both sit first on the team with two shots on goal. Meanwhile, three River Hawks have played all 180 minutes, highlighted by senior defender Oscar Perez (Sagunto, Spain) and sophomore midfielder Saihaj Kailay (Belleville, Ontario).

FRESH FACES
Nine of the newest River Hawks have made at least one appearance so far this season, with four earning at least one start. Both goals by the team have come off the foot of a newcomer, while three newcomers have accumulated at least 100 minutes of playtime.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
The Huskies enter Thursday's game coming off a 4-0 win against Pacific in their season opener. In that match, sophomore Ron Pressler led the way for Houston Christian, scoring a goal and adding an assist in only 37 minutes of play. D'Alessandro Herrera played a huge role as well, scoring what proved to be the game-winner while playing 82 minutes in the start. In net, Alex Aitken earned the start, making four saves on nine shots faced in the shutout performance.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS
UIW enters the week with a 1-1 record and will host Gonzaga ahead of Sunday's match. So far this season, the Cardinals have recorded two goals, one by Diego Robles, which was the lone goal in the 1-0 win over Pacific, and the other by Noe Robles in the 2-1 loss to Drake. Five Cardinals have played all 180 minutes so far, highlighted by Giovanni Padilla, who also owns the team's lone assist. In net, Alejandro De La Torre started both matches, making 10 saves while allowing two goals, good for a 0.833 save percentage.
 
A WIN WOULD
A win in both games would improve the River Hawks to 3-1 on the season, marking the second-best start under Head Coach Kyle Zenoni, only behind last season's 4-0-2 start. They would also mark the first wins over both teams, as UMass Lowell has not faced Houston Christian or IWU before.