River Hawks Post Second Shutout of Season, Best Merrimack 1-0

Tuesday, September 15

North Andover, MA

7PM

University of Massachusetts Lowell

3-2-2, 0-0-0

Merrimack

2-2-3, 0-0-0

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

MSOC Team Celebration After Go-Ahead Goal over Merrimack (9.15)

River Hawks Post Second Shutout of Season, Best Merrimack 1-0

9/15/2026 11:29:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Junior Justin Godbout-Garon (Québec City, Canada) scored the first goal of his career, as the UMass Lowell men's soccer team (3-2-2) took down the Merrimack Warriors (2-2-3) in a physical battle on Tuesday night.

"It's always such a big game and huge rivalry," said Head Coach Kyle Zenoni. "We are playing well and I'm so proud of the guys. We got a shutout and created a lot of good chances. We grinded out a win and learned from some past mistakes. Now we rest up and get prepared for Friday."

Godbout-Garon, whose goal came midway through the second half, was one of three River Hawks to record at least a point in the contest. Senior Linus Musielak (Dortmund, Germany) recorded the primary assist on the goal, while junior Cristiano Da Silva (Port Coquitlam, British Columbia) added the secondary assist. In net, junior Moritz Aé (Leipzig, Germany) made three saves in 90 minutes, posting his second shutout of the season.

Despite the Warriors logging the first shot of the match in the seventh minute, the River Hawks quickly put the pressure on the opposition, as Da Silva forced the hosts' keeper to make a save moments later. Maintaining possession for a majority of the first half, UMass Lowell continued to find strong scoring opportunities, peppering on six more shots in the half, including another shot on goal by Da Silva as well as one from both junior Kanata Takhashi (Hyogo, Japan) and senior Alex Champagne (Pembroke Pines, Fl.), but all three were rejected by the Merrimack goalie. Meanwhile, on the defensive end, the River Hawks only allowed three shots in the first 45 minutes, with Aé coming up with a big save on the only shot on target, keeping the game scoreless heading into halftime.

The second half, much like the first, had the River Hawks dominating and possession, as the visitors outshot the opposition 3-1 in the first 15 minutes, highlighted by a rocket off the foot of Champagne that just barely cleared over the crossbar. Only a few moments later, Da Silva used a clean slide to knock the ball loose from the Warriors before quickly getting up and passing the ball to Musielak on the far right end of the pitch. Wasting no time at all, the German forward launched the ball towards the net, and although the hosts' goalie was tracking it, Godbout-Garon jumped in to head the ball perfectly past the defense, securing the 1-0 lead for his squad in the 63^rd minute.

In the final 30 minutes, Merrimack did not hold back, unleashing a plethora of shots, but the UMass Lowell defense was up for the challenge, stopping every attempt, with Aé making a handful of excellent saves, sealing the 1-0 victory.

Next up, the River Hawks return home to host the Manhattan Jaspers on Friday, September 18, in the non-conference finale. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Cushing Field.