FINAL SCORE: No. 4 UMass Lowell 0, No. 5 Vermont 0 (PK's: UML 4, UVM 3)
LOWELL, Mass. – The fourth-seeded River Hawks edged the fifth-seeded Catamounts 4-3 in the shootout of Thursday night's America East Quarterfinal match at Cushing Field. UMass Lowell will move on to face top-seeded Stony Brook in the semifinal round on Sunday.
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COACH'S QUOTE
"We played with great effort tonight and we're proud to keep a clean sheet," head coach
Kristi Huizenga said. "Lowell threw some numbers forward and had some chances from distance but our consistent pressure allowed us to keep them off the board. PK's are always a tough way to end, and we are extremely proud of our senior class, and all of their outstanding contributions to this program. They are one of the most successful classes in the postseason at UVM by reaching back-to-back semifinals followed by last year's title game appearance. They should be very proud."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The River Hawks came out firing in the early minutes and forced UVM goalie Lydia Kessel (14 saves) to make a pair of key saves. In the eighth minute, Emily Nelson ripped a line drive from 15 yards out but Kessel dove to her left for the save. Four minutes later, Rachel Morrier lofted a free kick from 25 yards out but Kessel picked the ball out of the air for the easy stop.
- In the 17th minute, Alyssa Oviedo weaved through two defenders for a quick breakaway in the box but could not keep her shot from flying over the crossbar.
- Casey Garfinkel used her body to stop a potential scoring threat near the midway point of the first half. Kristina Bartsch sent a strike from the right side and Garfinkel stepped in front of the shot for the defensive stop. On the rebound, Nelson's attempt faded wide of the near post.
- In the final minutes of regulation, the Catamounts' defense came through with numerous clutch stops. With four minutes left in the match, Kristi Birgisdottir clanked a bender off the crossbar then Katelyn Vieira tried to finish the rebound but the attempt flew too high. Under the two-minute mark, Halle Anderson rifled a strike from 30 yards out but Kessel slapped the ball over the bar.
- In the shootout, each team completed two successful rounds before the River Hawks took a 3-2 lead in the third round. Brooke Jenkins fired a low kick towards the bottom left corner but Julia Schneider (1 save) recorded the stop, then Viera scored on UML's turn. The conference rivals converted their fourth-round attempts heading into the final round. On UVM's fifth attempt, Ella Bankert kicked the ball too high for the final 4-3 tally in penalty kicks.
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