LOWELL, Mass. – Senior Josh Ofsou (Chelmsford, Mass.) scored his first career goal as the UMass Lowell men’s soccer team (2-8-3) fought to a 1-1 draw against the Massachusetts Minutemen (6-4-5) on Tuesday night at Cushing Field.
“We tried a couple different things tonight,” said head coach Kyle Zenoni. “The guys fought hard. They have a good team and they play a good style that everyone buys into, so it’s difficult to defend them and the guys did well. The back four played awesome, so I was proud of them.”
Recording assists on Ofosu’s lone goal for the River Hawks were sophomore Calvin Scholten (Hengelo, Netherlands) and junior Shunnosuke Nakajima (Yokohama, Japan). Sophomore Iñaki Esnaola (Junin, Argentina) and senior Guillermo Francés Poquet (Enguera, Valencia) totaled three shots each, including one on goal, to lead the team. In net, senior Loucas Costeas (Nicosia, Cyrpus) made four saves in his second start of the season.
It took no time for the River Hawks to find their first scoring opportunity of the evening, as only 20 seconds into the match, the hosts logged their first shot on goal. After sprinting down the field with the ball following the kickoff, senior Guillermo Francés Poquet (Enguera, Valencia) sent a pass across the pitch for graduate student Javier Torres (Málaga, Spain). Torres promptly fired off a shot to the right side of the net, but a diving stop by the keeper kept things scoreless early.
The first half continued to be a battle, with the two teams exchanging shots, but neither was able to find the back of the net. The River Hawks found themselves with another opportunity to get on the board with 20:53 on the clock when Frances Poquet sent the ball towards the bottom right of the net, but the Massachusetts netminder got his hands on it to keep UMass Lowell off the board. The two teams went into the break knotted up at 0-0, with the River Hawks holding a 4-1 advantage in shots on goal.
The start of the second half proved to be a physical battle, with eight fouls in the opening 15 minutes. Despite the aggressive play from both sides, the Minutemen were able to control ball possession, outshooting the River Hawks 4-0 over that time. Although the UMass Lowell defense continued to fend off the attempts, in the 65th minute Massachusetts’ Andrew Ortiz found the back of the net, putting his team up 1-0.
Despite trailing, the River Hawks continued to battle as they looked for the equalizer. With 76:27 on the clock, and the ball on the opponents side of the field, Scholten sent a pass into the box for Nakajima, who headed it right to Ofosu. The Massachusetts native quickly wound up before firing off a rocket into the back of the net for the first time in his career, evening the score at 1-1.
In the final minutes, the Minutemen strung together three shots, but the River Hawks played excellent defense, sealing the 1-1 decision.
Next up, the River Hawks will take on Binghamton on Saturday, October 21 in the Senior Day match. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Cushing Field.
2023-10-18 02:10:58
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