Lowell, MA – The visiting UMBC women's soccer team surrendered a pair of first half goals and fell to the UMass Lowell River Hawks, 2-0, in America East play on Sunday afternoon at Kushing Field.

The Retrievers dropped to 5-6-4 overall and 1-3-2 in the conference while the hosts improved to 7-5-3 (4-1-1, AE). Despite the defeat, UMBC remains in sixth place in the conference standings and own the final playoff spot with a pair of games remaining.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• UMass Lowell capitalized on the game's first quality scoring chance just over six minutes in when sophomore Ioanna Papatheodorou made a run into the left side of the box. The forward stopped on a dime and then slid a pass to the center of the box for midfielder Emily Nelson, who advanced the ball to her left and beat UMBC senior goalkeeper Morgan McGruder (Overland Park, Kan., Blue Valley North) with a hard shot to the lower left corner of the net.
• The Retrievers had a nice opportunity in the 10' as graduate student Lola Negrete (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., Trabuco Hills / Jacksonville) sent a dangerous cross for senior Natasha Munro (Burlington, Ontario, Canada, Washington Township) directly in front of the goal, however, River Hawk keeper Taylor Burgess left her line and was able to punch the ball towards the sideline and away from harm.
• The same UMBC duo hooked up again in the 26' as Negrete sent a great ball down the sideline for Munro, but her left-footed shot from five yards out was turned away by Burgess, who made a diving stop to her right.
• The hosts would make it 2-0 with just over three minutes left before halftime after a long service from just beyond the midfield stripe. Junior forward Marissa Saucedo put the ball just outside the center of the box and a UMBC defender misplayed the bounce, which led to a one-on-one opportunity for Papatheodorou against McGruder. Papatheodorou was then able to slip the ball past the charging McGruder and into the lower right corner from point-blank range.
• UMBC was unable to find many scoring chances in the second half as the River Hawks held on for the victory.

NOTES

• McGruder made five saves for the Dawgs
• The River Hawks attempted 15 shots while UMBC recorded five attempts.
• The Retrievers took six corner kicks while the hosts were awarded five.

UP NEXT
The Retrievers will host New Hampshire on Sunday at noon at Retriever Soccer Park.