UMass Lowell (0-2) kicked off their home season this Saturday against the visiting Yale Bulldogs (1-0). Despite a strong fourth quarter, the River Hawks were unable to overcome the dominating ninth-ranked Yale team, losing 17-7 at Cushing Field.

“We learned a valuable lesson today and hopefully that will serve us through the season. That being our second game and fourteen games to go, we gotta learn from that,” said Head Coach Ed Stephenson on the loss.

The start of the first quarter started off slow for both teams despite a pair of goals from Yale and a goal from junior midfielder, Sam Klingsporn for the River Hawks. The score stayed at 1-2 in favor of Yale until the final minutes of the quarter, where UMass Lowell’s defense broke down and allowed three more goals. Yale also controlled ground balls, with 13 compared to UMass Lowell’s five, and shots, where Yale had 13 and UMass Lowell had two. The quarter ended with UMass Lowell down four.

The River Hawks were able to come out strong in the second half. UMass Lowell’s defense kept Yale to just 2 goals and River Hawk goalkeeper, freshman Grant Lardieri, made two big saves. Another goal from Klingsporn kept UMass Lowell in the game, despite Yale having two times as many shots in the quarter. The teams heading into the half with the River Hawks trailing, 2-7.

UMass Lowell struggled both offensively and defensively in the third quarter. They had only three shots on goal and were unable to finish any of them. Defensively, the River Hawks allowed nine goals and 19 shots from the Bulldogs. Frustration plagued the River Hawks as well, as defending suffered from penalties. UMass Lowell earned four penalties in the quarter and Yale lead 2-16 to end the quarter.

The fourth and final quarter saw a resurgence from the River Hawks after Yale stopped pressing during transitions. UMass Lowell outshot and outscored Yale during the quarter, earning 12 shots and five goals in the quarter. Yale still controlled the faceoff over UMass Lowell but saw more turnovers, with six compared the UMass Lowell’s three. Klingsporn scored another goal for the River Hawks, earning a hat trick, but his effort wasn’t enough to significantly cut Yale’s lead.

The River Hawks travel to Loudonville, N.Y. to face Siena College next Saturday at 1 p. m.