River Hawks Use Second Half Comeback to Best CCSU, 2-1

Thursday, August 27

Lowell, Mass.

6PM

University of Massachusetts Lowell

1-1-1, 0-0-0

CCSU

1-1-0, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Central Conn. St.	1	0	1
UMass Lowell	0	2	2

Ethan Agyare-Danso Celebration after GWG vs. CCSU

River Hawks Use Second Half Comeback to Best CCSU, 2-1

8/27/2026 10:14:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Jonah Straube (Frankfurt, Germany) and senior Ethan Agyare-Danso each scored their first goals of the season, as the UMass Lowell men's soccer team (1-1-1) pulled off a late comeback to take down the CCSU Blue Devils (1-1-0), 2-1, on an emotional Thursday night.

"It was very emotional," said Head Coach Kyle Zenoni. "We were fortunate to have Toby's family come here for the home opener to honor him properly. It was emotional and turned out to be a great game to be a part of, because obviously we were down but then came back to win. It was an exciting night."

Straube and Agyare-Danso, who each finished with a shot on goal, were two of seven River Hawks to tally at least one shot on the evening. Junior Kanata Takahashi (Hyogo, Japan) finished with two shots on target, while junior Justin Godbout-Garon (Québec City, Canada) paced the team with three shots. In net, junior Moritz Aé (Leipzig, Germany) made five saves in his second start of the year.

CCSU started the game strong offensively, registering two shots in the opening 15 minutes, with Godbout-Garon posting the hosts' only shot in that span. Although the Blue Devils continued to put pressure on the River Hawks, they refused to back down defensively, as Aé made two more saves over the next eight minutes, keeping the score at 0-0.

In the 24^th minute, the River Hawks found their best opportunity yet, intercepting a pass at midfield to begin a break towards the goal. Racing past his defender, senior Linus Musielak (Dortmund, Germany) passed it up to Godbout-Garon, who made a beautiful pass back to the German native, setting up an open look that snuck past the opposing keeper's hands but clipped the post. Just over a minute later, the River Hawks saw another opportunity, but the shot went just right. Both teams stood strong defensively the rest of the way, but a penalty kick for the visitors in the 44^th minute gave them a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.

The River Hawks went straight to work to start the second half, as Takahashi ripped a shot toward the bottom left corner of the net in the 49^th minute, but the opposing keeper was quick on his feet to deny the shot. Although CCSU battled back with a pair of shots of their own, UMass Lowell found another scoring opportunity in the 69^th minute and made sure to capitalize. After a foul just outside the box, Musielak sent the free kick into the box, setting up Straube to head the equalizer perfectly into the left side of the net, knotting the game up 1-1.

In the final 20 minutes, UMass Lowell increased the pressure, looking to take advantage of any mistake by CCSU. In the 85^th minute, with the ball on their half of the pitch, the Blue Devils looked to pass the ball down the field, but Agyare-Danso was all over it, intercepting the pass. After a quick pass to Godbout-Garon, he dished the ball right back to Agyare-Danso, who laced a shot past the Blue Devils' goalie, putting his team on top, 2-1, with only minutes to play. In the final seconds, the visitors fired off one final attempt to get back on the board, but a great save by Aé sealed the 2-1 victory.

Before the game, the River Hawks held a pregame ceremony to celebrate the life of teammate Toby Forsythe.

Next up, the River Hawks visit Massachusetts in the annual Kennedy Cup battle on Wednesday, September 2. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Rudd Field.