UMass-Lowell Takes Down No. 1 Men's Soccer in a Last-Minute Heartbreaker, 1- 0
Box Score LOWELL, Mass. (November 11, 2012) – Juan Moreira's goal in the 89th minute broke a scoreless deadlock and pushed the University of Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks past the No. 1 LIU Post men's soccer team in the second round of NCAA East Regional action on Sunday afternoon.
The Pioneers' season ends at 18-2 overall, while UML improves to 15-5-1 and advances to next Friday's third round game against Southern New Hampshire, 1-0 winner over Merrimack in today's other regional competition.
The loss spoiled a brilliant game for junior goalkeeper
Marco Jorgensen (Copenhagen, Denmark), who made nine saves and kept the Pioneers in the game with several key stops.
It was a good game from kickoff onward, as Moreira had the first real chance of the game in the 13th minute, but Jorgensen was in perfect position to handle the header.
The Pioneers quickly countered one minute later as freshman
Per Forgaard (Stavanger, Norway) had an open look from the left side of the box, but UML keeper Chris Maierle made the stop.
The balance swung quickly back again to the River Hawks as Brucon Bonicontro had a good look in the 14th minute but his shot tailed just to the left of the goal.
The fierce play continued, especially in the midfield, as both teams battled to create chances. In the 34th minute, David Galvin put a great shot on goal following a breakaway down the left side, but Jorgensen was there to make the point blank save.
After the halftime break, the hard-fought contest continued as Homero Morais missed just wide on a hard shot just two minutes into the second half.
The Pioneers had two great looks in the 56th minute as a thru ball from
Jonathon Watkin (Doncaster, England) went to
Cemil Turan (Staten Island, N.Y.), who's shot was thwarted by Maierle. Seconds later, another thru ball found Forgaard, who got off a quick shot, but Maierle was in position again and made the save.
Jorgensen came up big in the 61st minute, stopping a wide-open shot by Bonicontro with a sliding save, and did it again in the 74th minute, as he faced Galvin one-on-one and muffled the first attempt, with junior back
Eirik Bjoernoe (Randaberg, Norway) sliding in behind Jorgensen to notch the defensive save on the ensuing shot attempt by Galvin.
Forgaard just missed in the 80th minute as his shot sailed just over the crossbar, and UML countered two minutes later with a header by Galvin that Jorgensen punched away.
But the River Hawks, who had a 25-14 edge on the shot chart, engineered an offensive burst in the 88th minute, and Bonicontro's corner kick sailed perfectly in front of the goal, finding Moreira, who buried home a header to end the Pioneers' season.
Despite the loss, it marks the second season in a row the Pioneers have made an NCAA appearance as well as the second season in a row the Pioneers have set a new mark for wins in a single season.