Stony Brook, N.Y. - The Stony Brook men's soccer team (7-4-2, 2-2 AE) pressured the No. 18 UMass Lowell River Hawks' (10-0-2, 3-0-1) back line, earning 15 corner kicks to none for the River Hawks, but the visitors held strong to earn a 1-0 victory behind a first half free kick goal by Ivan Abramovic on Sunday at LaValle Stadium.

Anatol's Reaction 

"I'm very proud of the guys," said head coach Ryan Anatol. "They came out here and worked hard and really tried to take the game to UMass Lowell.  Lowell is a good team and they were able to get a goal in the first half which made us have to chase the game a little bit. We created a lot of chances, but give their goalkeeper and defense credit for making a few big saves to keep the shutout."

Highlights

• Neither team could muster much of an offensive attack until the flow of the game changed when the River Hawks were awarded a free kick on top of the Seawolves' box following a hand ball. Redshirt freshman Ivan Abramovic capitalized on the opportunity by curling a shot into the top corner for his seventh goal of the season to put UMass Lowell ahead 1-0 in the 23rd minute.
• Sophomore midfielder Serge Gamwanya (Trondheim, Norway) had Stony Brook's best chance of the half with under five minutes to play in the period but he ripped a shot from 25 yards out high.
• The Seawolves started the second half on the front foot. Junior Danny Espinoza (East Meadow, N.Y) got things rolling with a nice run down the right flank, setting up Gamwanya with a cross, but the midfielder's left-footed shot was saved by a diving Austin Kroll.
• Junior goalkeeper Tom McMahon (Nassau Bay, Texas) kept Stony Brook in the match with a big save in the 69th minute, diving to his right to hold a Joe Kellett shot from 12 yards out.
• Sophomore mdifielder Martieon Watson (Vessigny, Trinidad) had Stony Brook's final two chances. He did well on his first attempt to pounce on a bouncing ball in the box and hook a shot towards goal, but Kroll came up with another big save. 
• Watson's final chance in the 89th minute came from one of Stony Brook's 15 corner kicks, but he headed junior Thibault Duval's (Liege, Belgium) cross over the bar.

Notes

• Stony Brook outshot the River Hawks 12-10 for the match.
• Watson, Gamwanya and Espinoza each finished with two shots and one shot on target.
• Stony Brook was held scoreless for just the second time this season and the first time in 10 contests.
• McMahon made three saves in defeat.
• UMass Lowell entered the week just one of three remaining undefeated teams in the country.

Up Next

Stony Brook takes a break from its grueling conference schedule with a non-conference game at Army West Point on Tuesday, October 18, at 7 pm.