River Hawks Fall to UAlbany in Conference Home Opener

Saturday, October 3

Lowell, Mass.

6PM

University of Massachusetts Lowell

5-3-2, 1-1-0

UAlbany

6-2-1, 2-0-0

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

Liam Duggan (MSOC Recap Header vs. UAlbany)

River Hawks Fall to UAlbany in Conference Home Opener

10/3/2026 9:42:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

LOWELL, Mass. – Junior goalkeeper Moritz Aé (Leipzig, Germany) made five saves in net, as the UMass Lowell men's soccer team (5-3-2, 1-1-0 AE) fell to the UAlbany Great Danes (6-2-1, 2-0-0 AE), 1-0, in the team's conference home opener on Saturday night.

"Obviously it's disappointing to drop the game," said Head Coach Kyle Zenoni. "UAlbany is a tough team to play against were very organized all game. We had an unfortunate play in the back and they did a good job capitalizing on that mistake. We had a few good looks but couldn't find the back of the net. That's how it goes sometimes but the guys fought hard all the way to the end. The goal is to make it into the postseason, and if we are 1 or 6 we don't care. We will start prepping for next Saturday tomorrow."

Leading the way for the River Hawks' offense were senior Alex Champagne (Pembroke Pines, Fl.) and junior Santiago Somorrostro (Nashua, N.H.), who both recorded a shot on goal in the contest. Senior Linus Musielak (Dortmund, Germany) and juniors Jonah Straube (Frankfurt, Germany) and Justin Godbout-Garon (Québec City, Canada) each finished with a shot on the night.

The River Hawks started the game strong defensively, as Aé made his first save of the match less than two minutes in. Although UAlbany continued to fire off shots, including four more in the next ten minutes, UMass Lowell stood strong, not allowing any of the attempts reach their net to keep the visitors from striking first. The River Hawks responded quickly, as Musielak fired off the team's first shot of the match in the 16^th minute, but it sailed just over the crossbar.

Throughout the remainder of the first half, both sides continued to battle for possession, and despite the Great Danes logging one shot that Aé made a save on in the 36^th minute, neither team found a strong scoring opportunity, sending the game into halftime knotted up at 0-0.

Coming out of the break, UAlbany found their rhythm offensively, scoring the first goal of the match in the 52^nd minute to take a 1-0 lead. Although they followed up with a pair of shots, including one saved by Aé, the River Hawks' defense stood strong, preventing the opposition from adding to the lead. Meanwhile on the offensive end, junior Jonah Straube (Frankfurt, Germany), nearly found the equalizer with a header in the 64^th minute, but it went just wide.

In the final 25 minutes, the hosts, looking to find the game-tying goal, increased the pressure they were putting on the UAlbany defense. In the 70^th minute, Champagne headed a shot towards the right side of the net, but the visitor's goalie was able to jump to get in front of it. Moments later, Somorrostro added a shot on target, while Godbout-Garon followed with a header shortly after, but neither were able to find the back of the net, sealing the 1-0 decision.

Next up, the River Hawks head back out on the road to take on the Binghamton Bearcats on Saturday, October 10. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.