Belin Nets Brace as River Hawks Down UMBC, 2-0

Sunday, October 18

Lowell, Mass.

12PM

University of Massachusetts Lowell

4-5-4, 1-1-3

UMBC

9-4-3, 3-2-1

Team	1	2	Final F
UMBC	0	0	0
UMass Lowell	1	1	2

Belin Nets Brace as River Hawks Down UMBC, 2-0

10/18/2026 2:31:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

LOWELL, Mass. – Squaring off against UMBC (9-4-3, 3-2-1 AE), which was second in the America East standings heading into the match, the UMass Lowell women's soccer team (4-5-4, 1-1-3 AE) took a 2-0 shutout win.

"I'm happy for our first conference win, I think we were due for one," said Head Coach Mira Novak. "The performance from our players today was really sharp, and we played beautiful soccer in the first half. It was great to show what we can do with our alumni here."

Sophomore Nora Belin (Stockholm, Sweden) scored two goals to power the River Hawks, heading in the first before booting the second into the left side. She earned the first brace from a River Hawk since senior Marissa Sage (Milford, N.H.) found the back of the net twice against Merrimack on August 23.

On Belin's goals, junior Nuala Rodgers (Dedham, Mass.) and sophomore Nina Hertz-Saebbö (Gothenberg, Sweden) got assists. Rodgers, a midfielder, made her first assist of the season while Hertz-Saebbö made her second. Hertz-Saebbö notched her 14th point of the season, moving her into a tie for 10th most in a season in UMass Lowell's Division I history.

Junior goalkeeper Rachel Welch (Franklin, Mass.) kept UMBC off the board for her third shutout of the season. She made five saves in the contest.

The Retrievers entered the match ranked No. 133 in the NCAA RPI, the highest in the conference. It's UMass Lowell's best win by RPI this season.

The River Hawks dominated possession out of the gate, with Belin logging two shots and forcing Retrievers keeper Amara Codd to make a save within the first five minutes. At 14 minutes, Belin recorded another shot after a strong run from the River Hawks.

The UMBC offense threatened, drilling a shot off the crossbar a few minutes later. However, the UMass Lowell offense continued passing well and creating chances.

Belin finally found paydirt on her fifth shot of the half at 37 minutes, as redshirt freshman Elsa Freeman (Portland, Maine) passed it to Rodgers, who made a magnificent cross. Belin headed it in for the goal to put the River Hawks up 1-0.

In the first half, the River Hawks outshot UMBC 7-6, leading shots on goal 3-1. After Belin's goal, UMass Lowell took the 1-0 lead to the locker room.

Coming out of halftime, the Retrievers recorded two shots in the first 10 minutes, with Welch making a save to maintain the lead.

After a quiet start to the half, the River Hawk offense roared to life in the 61st minute as Belin scored her second goal off the assist from Hertz-Saebbö. A steal from Belin and some strong passing between the Swedish sophomores led to Belin's third goal this season.

The remainer of the second half was back and forth, with both teams making runs. However, neither was able to score, with Welch making two saves in the last two minutes.

Up next, the River Hawks remain at home, playing New Hampshire on Thursday, October 22. Admission to the match, which kicks off at 6 p.m., is free courtesy of Eastern Salt and Mahoney Oil.