Joe Kellett passes the ball as he is defended by Quinnipiac’s Rashawn Dally. (Matt Dwyer/Connector).
Brock Johnson
Connector Editor
The UMass Lowell men’s soccer team found themselves in overtime against Quinnipiac University for the second game in a row, this time ending in a 1-1 draw after two scoreless overtime periods at Cushing Field.
At 5:12 in the first half, Junior Jakov Basic opened the scoring, dribbling across the top of Quinnipiac’s box before ripping a shot in the top left corner to put the River Hawks up 1-0. Red shirt sophomore Chase Reichenberg assisted on Basic’s tally.
“I thought it was a good effort by the guys. I thought we could’ve done a few things better throughout the game. It was good to get that early goal, but it would’ve been nice to see us just continue to push forward and create more opportunities at that point,” said UMass Lowell head coach Christian Figueroa. “I thought Quinnipiac did well, I loved their energy tonight and give them credit for being able to crawl back and get the result.”
In a physical, contentious match, Basic was the cornerstone that UMass Lowell needed in the midfield. Quinnipiac tallied 19 fouls to UMass Lowell’s 12. Basic’s physical play on both ends of the field controlled the play for the River Hawks.
UMass Lowell took the momentum along with their 1-0 lead into the second half of play.
In the second half, the referee attempted to take control of the physical game. Senior Shaquille Huggins of Quinnipiac, a source of a noticeable amount of fouls during the first half, received a yellow card just a few minutes into the second half.
At the 53-minute mark, UMass Lowell sophomore Ivan Blaskic also received a yellow card. Following the two yellow cards, the play did shift away from the aggressiveness that was previously shown.
The River Hawks looked to be holding a commanding lead until Qunnipiac junior Derek Parker tied the game 16 minutes into the second half. The goal came on an awkward, sky-high shot from the right corner to the left side of the net. UMass Lowell goalkeeper senior Austin Kroll, who collected three saves on the night, was not able to haul in the strange shot.
With the game at a tied score of 1-1, Quinnipiac continued with the momentum from the equalizing goal. UMass Lowell defended several corner kicks and other Quinnipiac scoring chances before reaching the overtime periods.
In the first overtime period, UMass Lowell senior Richard Mulo directed a shot on target with his head, but Quinnipiac’s sophomore goalkeeper Chysostomos Iakovidis was up to the task. Iakovidis fully extended his arms, reaching the shot just under the crossbar.
Despite other scoring chances for the River Hawks in overtime, the game ended in a draw after Quinnipiac played the overtime periods with 11 men behind the ball.
“We just got to take care of the bodies right now, just make sure we get a good recovery the next couple of days, prepare and get a game plan,” said Figueroa regarding the upcoming game against Monmouth University.
The River Hawks will play again this weekend on Cushing Field as they take on Monmouth on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m.