The UMBC women’s soccer team dropped a tough decision 2-0 to the UMass Lowell River Hawks Thursday night in Lowell, MA. The Retrievers fought hard, outshooting the River Hawks 15 to 10, with 9 shots on goal against Lowell’s 6.
Even though the Retrievers outshot the River Hawks, 2 goals from Lowell, one in each half, sunk UMBC. The goals coming in minutes 12 and 51 from the same UMass Lowell player, overpowering junior visual arts major Leah Roth.
Roth made four saves in the game, bringing her save total on the season to 61 saves, and her career total to 160 saves. She also is No. 8 in conference in goals against average with 1.53, and No. 7 in conference in save percentage with .744.The goalkeepers for the team, both Roth and freshman Jade Wilkins, have the fifth most saves in the America East conference with 68, and they average 4.86 per game.
Unfortunately for the Retrievers, the shooting boots have gone cold, having only scored two goals in five America East games and shutout in three of them. The team is No. 8 in conference in shots with 10.57 per game, and only 148 on the season. Sophomore Nikki Saad has taken 29 shots on the season, good enough to be ranked 13th in the conference in shots. When they do shoot, they gain more corner kicks, averaging 5.00 per game with 70 in 14 games. UMBC has scored 11 goals this season, averaging just 0.79 goals per game, they score a goal every 13.45 shots they take.
With the loss against UMass Lowell, the Retrievers drop to 2-9-3 overall and 0-5-0 in America East play.
The Retrievers have two home games left this season, with the University of Vermont coming on Thursday, Oct. 19, for the Think Pink Game in a support of breast cancer awareness. They will also host Senior Day on Oct. 22, honoring Seniors Gabby Boehmer and Madison Koenig, as the University of New Hampshire arrives in Retriever Soccer Park.
