NEW BRITAIN, CT. – Three different River Hawks scored their first career goals, as the UMass Lowell men's soccer team (5-3-1) took down the CCSU Blue Devils (0-6-1), 3-2, on Tuesday night.

"Really proud of our guys," said Head Coach Kyle Zenoni. "We made the game interesting for sure but we did what we needed to do for the result. There were a lot of guys who stepped up tonight and I felt we earned the win. Being up 3-0, then having two pk's called against you is never easy. They started getting a lot of momentum but we didn't crack. Bend but don't break, and that is what we did tonight. We will rest up and get ready for Bryant. It's the second part of the season now and we will be prepared for it."

Senior Junyoung Hwang (Gimpo, South Korea) got the scoring started for the River Hawks, with senior Jean Leonardo (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and freshman Ben Inthisone (Sun Prairie, Wis.) also finding the back of the net, all career firsts for the trio. Junior Linus Musielak (Dortmund, Germany) and sophomore Henry Wohlt (Milwaukee, Wis.) also joined the point column, as each added an assist. In net, freshman Alvaro Medrano (Guatemala City, Guatemala) made six saves, including a big stop on a penalty kick early in the second half.

The River Hawks didn't take long to get started, scoring before the five-minute mark for the third time this season. After the visitors sent a corner into the box, Musielak collected it before dishing out a pass to Hwang, who ripped a shot into the corner of the net for the first goal of his career at the 4:58 mark. UMass Lowell didn't slow down there, though, outshooting the Blue Devils 3-1 over the next 20 minutes, but the score remained the same midway through the first.

Although the River Hawks were able to dominate possession for the remainder of the period, CCSU tallied the next shot of the game just before the 30-minute mark. The visitors locked down the remainder of the way, not allowing another shot before the break, while adding two of their own, but the score remained 1-0 at halftime.

Coming out of the break, the Blue Devils started to build momentum, earning a penalty kick at 49:09. Medrano was up to the challenge, making an incredible diving save to keep the opposition from evening the score. Just over a minute later, the River Hawks struck again, this time with Leonardo earning the first goal of his career. They didn't slow down there, though, with Inthisone adding a score of his own to make it a 3-0 difference in the 59^th minute.  

In the final 30 minutes, the hosts started to claw back, capitalizing on a second penalty kick to earn their first goal of the match.  In the 78^th minute, they added one more to make it a one-goal difference, but the UMass Lowell defense locked in the remainder of the way, sealing the 3-2 victory.

Next up, the River Hawks continue the road trip as they begin America East conference play on Sunday, September 28, at #14 Bryant. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Beirne Stadium in Smithfield, R.I.