LOWELL, Mass. – Redshirt sophomore Justin Pham (Liverpool, N.Y.) scored his second goal of the season, as the UMass Lowell men's soccer team (4-2-1) earned a hard-fought, 1-0 victory over the Merrimack Warriors (2-3-1) on Tuesday night.

"It was a battle," said Head Coach Kyle Zenoni. "When you have such a close rival, it's gonna be hard. Sometimes soccer looks good, sometimes it looks sloppy. They're a well-coached group, so it makes it very difficult. Tony does a good job with those guys. Overall, I'm very pleased. The guys fought hard, and it turned into a big fight, and we did well."

Pham, who finished with three shots, was one of four River Hawks to finish with a shot on goal. Senior Shunnosuke Nakajima (Yokohama, Japan) finished with one shot alongside the assist on Pham's goal, while junior Alex Champagne (Pembroke Pines, Fl.) added two shots on net and sophomore Santiago Somorrostro (Nashua, N.H.) tallied one. In net, freshman Alvaro Medrano (Guatemala City, Guatemala) made two saves in his third clean slate of the season.

The River Hawks were quick to strike on Tuesday afternoon, as Pham tallied his second goal of the year with 3:03 on the clock. After Nakajima dished a pass to Pham on the left side of the field, the redshirt sophomore unleashed a shot from deep outside the box, and despite a diving effort by a Merrimack defender and the keeper, the shot trickled into the bottom left corner of the net, giving the squad a 1-0 advantage. Despite having the early lead, UMass Lowell continued to put the pressure on the Warriors, firing off a trio of shots, including two on target, but a pair of saves by the opposing goalie kept it a one-goal difference through 25 minutes.

The remainder of the first half proved to be a back-and-forth defensive battle by both sides, as the two teams combined for only three shots. Although Merrimack logged a shot on goal in the 26^th minute, Medrano was quick to get his hands on it, preventing the visitors from getting on the board. The hosts responded with two shots of their own by Nakajima and sophomore Santiago Somorrostro (Nashua, N.H.), but the score remained 1-0 heading into halftime.

Coming out of the break, the River Hawks dominated possession, registering two shots on target by junior Alex Champagne (Pembroke Pines, Fl.) and Pham by the 52^nd minute.  Both sides proceeded to lock down, with neither team tallying a shot for over 20 minutes of action. With 71:13 on the clock, senior Oscar Perez (Sagunto, Spain) ripped his first shot of the evening, but it just missed the net, keeping the score at 1-0.

In the final 20 minutes, the Warriors sent everything they had at the River Hawks, outshooting the hosts 7-1. UMass Lowell, however, held its ground, allowing only one shot to reach the net, which Medrano saved, sealing the 1-0 victory.

Next up, the River Hawks hit the road to take on the Brown Bears on Saturday, September 20. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Stevenson-Pincince Field.