River Hawks Fall to Houston Christian, 1-0, On Sunday Night

Sunday, August 23

Houston, TX

8PM

University of Massachusetts Lowell

0-1-1, 0-0-0

Houston Christian

1-1-0, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
UMass Lowell	0	0	0
Houston Christian	0	1	1

River Hawks Fall to Houston Christian, 1-0, On Sunday Night

8/23/2026 10:24:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

HOUSTON, TX. – Sophomore Alvaro Medrano (Guatemala City, Guatemala) made five saves in net, as the UMass Lowell men's soccer team (0-1-1) fell to Houston Christian (1-1-0), 1-0, on Sunday evening.

"I am proud of the fight we showed tonight," said Head Coach Kyle Zenoni. "This is a tough trip and we came out with a tie and and a loss. I got to learn a lot about my team and we need to work on a few things of course, but I'm also encouraged by so many players. We added a lot of new players and we are still working through some things and we will get there. Losing sucks of course, but every goal we have given up has not been in the run of play which is good. We are creating a lot of good chances as well, and eventually we will find our form. We will review the game and start preparing for our first home game Thursday."

Medrano, who made his first appearance of the season, was one of four River Hawks to play the entire match. Juniors Saihaj Kailay (Belleville, Ontario), Jonah Straube (Frankfurt, Germany) and Sho Kinjo (Nara, Japan) all logged 90 minutes of playing time. Offensively, junior Adam Abdelaal (Orlando, Fl.) posted a shot on goal, while juniors Kanata Takahashi (Hyogo, Japan), Fredrik Moen (Sarpsborg, Norway) and Alex Champagne (Pembroke Pines, Fl.) and sophomore Juan-Pablo Correa (Wakefield, Mass.) each registered a shot.

The River Hawks immediately put pressure on the Huskies' defense, earning a free kick only 52 seconds in, followed by a corner kick only 25 seconds later. Houston Christian held off the UMass Lowell advances, though, keeping the game scoreless before logging their first shot of the match ten minutes in. The hosts started to hit their stride, posting six shots over the next 20 minutes, but the River Hawks stood tall on defense with two blocked shots and a pair of saves by Medrano to keep the score at 0-0.

In the final 15 minutes of the first half, the back-and-forth battle continued, and despite the Huskies firing off the next shot of the game, which Medrano once again saved, the visitors maintained possession, preventing the opposition from creating another scoring opportunity. Meanwhile, on the offensive end, the River Hawks utilized a pair of corners to try to jump in front, but were unable to capitalize, keeping the game scoreless heading into halftime.

Coming out of the break, UMass Lowell found its rhythm, outshooting Houston Christian 2-1 while holding a 2-0 advantage in corner kicks in the opening 10 minutes of the period. The River Hawks continued to fire off shots, this time with shots by Correa and Abdelaal, but the Huskies' defense held on with just over 20 minutes to play.

In the remainder of the second half, Houston Christian capitalized on a penalty kick to take the first lead of the match. UMass Lowell refused to back down, looking for the equalizer in the final 15 minutes, but were unable to find it, sealing the 1-0 decision.

Next up, the River Hawks host the CCSU Blue Devils in their home opener on Thursday, August 27. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Cushing Field.