River Hawks Drop Tightly Contested Battle Against NJIT on Alumni Day

Saturday, October 24

Lowell, Mass.

6PM

University of Massachusetts Lowell

5-5-3, 1-3-1

NJIT

8-4-3, 4-0-1

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

10/24/2026 10:23:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Eijin Magota (Tokyo, Japan) made four saves in his first start of the season, as the UMass Lowell men's soccer team (5-5-3, 1-3-1 AE) dropped a tightly contested, 1-0 match against the NJIT Highlanders (8-4-3, 4-0-1 AE) on Alumni Day.

"It was a special night to celebrate the 50^th, said Head Coach Kyle Zenoni. "I got to see and meet so many alumni and it made the night so special. Thank you to all the alumni that came! I wish we would have gotten the win, I thought we did enough to at least get a result in the game, but we just couldn't find the back of the net. It's obviously a huge game on Friday and we need to move on quickly and prepare for UNH."

Leading the River Hawks' offense, junior Santiago Somorrostro (Nashua, N.H.) posted three shots, including two on goal. Senior Linus Musielak (Dortmund, Germany) added two shots with one on target, while juniors Jonah Straube (Frankfurt, Germany) and Cristiano Da Silva (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) each added a shot on net.

Although the River Hawks started the game strong with a shot attempt less than 30 seconds in, NJIT used a corner and a pair of headers to jump in front, 1-0, in the eighth minute. UMass Lowell, looking to respond, took control in the possession game, firing off five of the game's next six shots, highlighted by a shot on goal by Musielak and Somorrostro, but a pair of saves by the visiting keeper kept it a one-goal game midway through the first half.

With 35:11 on the clock, the hosts nearly found the equalizer off the foot of senior Ethan Agyrae-Danso (Etobicoke, Canada). Moving down the right side of the pitch, the senior found an opening and raced past his defender to leave only the goalie in his way. At a near impossible angle, he sent a shot to the left of the diving keeper, but the ball trickled just outside the post. Through the final ten minutes of the half, NJIT logged two shots, but an impressive leaping save by Magota kept it a 1-0 game heading into the break.

The UMass Lowell defense started the second half strong, with Magota making a save only two minutes in. The Highlanders refused to slow down, adding a handful of shots over the next 20 minutes, but the River Hawks were up to the challenge, not allowing a clean opportunity, preventing the opposition from registering another shot on target. Meanwhile, on the offensive end, Somorrostro nearly found the equalizer in the 59^th minute, but a NJIT defender was quick on his feet, jumping in front to block the shot.

In the final 25 minutes of the match, the River Hawks kept up the pressure on the opposing defense, as Da Silva and Straube each posted a shot on goal, while sophomore Juan-Pablo Correa (Wakefield, Mass.) tallied two shots as well, but NJIT's defense held on, sealing the 1-0 decision.

Next up, the River Hawks take the short trip north to take on the University of New Hampshire Wildcats on Friday, October 30. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Wildcat Stadium.