(Photo courtesy of UMass Lowell Athletics) “The River Hawks team celebrate a goal together.”
Jason Cooke
Connector Editor
On the heels of its seventh straight postseason appearance, the UMass Lowell women’s soccer team is off to a strong start on its 2025 campaign, with hopes of tending to unfinished business following last fall’s loss in the America East Championship semifinals.
A total of 18 returners have headlined the River Hawks this fall, headlined by Hilary Jaén, who earned America East All-Conference Second Team honors last season.
UMass Lowell (4-4-3) has netted a 1-1-1 conference record so far, most recently falling to New Hampshire on the road on Oct. 2. Prior to the defeat, the River Hawks fought to a 1-0 win over UMBC on Sept. 28 to enter the conference win column. Sophomore Gaby Eckroth found the netting for UMass Lowell in the win.
Eckroth, whose goal marked her third tally in as many games — has been a key cog in UMass Lowell’s team this fall. She leads the team in both goals and points, 5 and 10, and has made a sizable leap from her two-goal season as a freshman.
The team’s biggest win came in a 5-1 thumping over New Haven on Sept. 14. Freshman Nora Belin starred in the victory, scoring two goals as Eckroth also found the back of the net twice in the win. Sophomore Nuala Rodgers rounded out the scoring with her first career goal. Belin is
second on the team in both goals with three and in points with six.
It is officially crunch time for the River Hawks. UMass Lowell eyes five straight conference matches to close out the season ahead of the conference tournament set to begin on Nov. 2. UMass Lowell’s first test comes against Binghamton on Oct. 12. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at
Cushing Field.
Let’s switch the attention onto Men’s Soccer.
The UMass Lowell men’s soccer team (5-4-1, 0-1 AE) dropped a 3-0 decision to Bryant in its conference opener on Sept. 28 but is built to bounce back from last season’s 1-4-2 conference mark.
Prior to the loss to Bryant, UMass Lowell played to a 3-2 win over CCSU in what was a milestone day for the River Hawks. Senior Junyoung Hwang, senior Jean Leonardo and freshman Ben Inthisone all scored their first career goals in the win to rebound from a 4-1 loss to Brown three days earlier.
Sophomore Justin Pham has led the way for UMass Lowell so far, leading the team in points with six while being tied for the team lead in goals with two with junior Linus Musielak. Pham is a newcomer to the team this fall after playing a season at Lemoyne. That season, he was named to the NEC All-Rookie Team, scoring two goals while dishing out four helpers.
Pham’s second goal of the season came in UMass Lowell’s 1-0 shutout win over Merrimack on Sept. 16. He also registered three shots as freshman Alvaro Medrano made two saves for his third shutout of the year.
Like the women’s team, the men’s squad is set to embark on an important stretch of conference games. The River Hawks eye six consecutive America East clashes, which began with Binghamton on Saturday. The results of the match were not known as of press time. UMass
Lowell returns home to meet UMBC on Oct. 25 for a 6 p.m. start time after road contests with Vermont on Oct. 11 and NJIT on Oct. 18.
