The River Hawks fell to a 3-5-2 record overall and 1-1-0 in America East play. (Courtesy of UMass Lowell Athletics)
by Kathryn Leeber
Connector Staff
Despite a strong start, the UMass Lowell women’s soccer team was unable to score, leading to a 1-0 loss.
The team came out assertively to start the game, with fast pushes towards the net. The River Hawks held nearly all of the possession in the first half, but could not convert to a goal. This was due, in part, to the strong defense from the Black Bears.
About two minutes in, junior forward Shannon Groffie almost scored, but the ball struck off the crossbar.
A few minutes later, Maine had some shots on goal and all were saved, until midfielder Kendra Ridley scored off of a header. Vivien Beil had the assist, as she took the corner kick that led to the goal. This was the Black Bears’ only goal of the night, but it was enough to secure a victory.
The River Hawks had great passes, with some resulting in turnovers, but overall had great looks to their teammates. Despite a relatively clean first half, there were a few corner kicks taken by the team, but none came close enough to the goal to allow for a good shot.
Head coach Joel Bancroft was disappointed with the loss but ultimately felt his team played very well. “I have to tell you, at half time, I thought that was the best performance we’ve ever had, in the history of our program. In the first eleven minutes, I don’t think our opponent crossed the half twice,” he said.
Despite being down at halftime, UMass Lowell displayed an increased effort, with more intensity and aggressiveness to start the second half. Both teams had more fouls, leading to free kicks and corner kicks, but again, no goals.
UMass Lowell’s Emily Duchesne received a yellow card after a collision with Maine in the 57th minute. This resulted in a free kick for Maine, but they did not score.
Both teams substituted many players throughout the game to ensure they would have speedy players on the pitch. The UMass Lowell forwards displayed their strengths, outrunning a number of Maine players near the goal. Sophomore forward Jaymee Luke and senior midfielder Taylor Chianese came on as substitutes in the second half and they contributed a great deal with their quick speed.
The River Hawks had great touches with the ball and had some shots on goal, but ultimately the Black Bears’ goalkeeper, Samantha Cobotic, was very skilled in stopping the shots.
Cobotic recorded five saves and UMass Lowell’s Julia Schneider had three.
“Apart from the first ten minutes of the second half where I thought [Maine] kind of swung it back in their favor, I thought we were dominant in this game and I’m really proud of this group. We didn’t get the result, but our performance was pretty impressive,” stated Bancroft after the game.
The River Hawks now have a 3-5-2 record overall, and are 1-1-0 in America East play.
Despite an undesirable outcome, Bancroft clearly has confidence in this team, and the group will look to improve their record this weekend at Vermont, and later in next week’s contest at UMBC until they return to Lowell on Oct. 9 against Stony Brook.
