LOWELL, Mass. – No. 25 UMass Lowell netted the game-winner in the 87th minute to hand the Monmouth University men a 3-2 setback Saturday night.
UMass Lowell’s Jakov Basic scored the first two goals of the game inside the left post to give the River Hawks a 2-0 lead.
Moments after Basic’s second goal, Monmouth senior Jake Areman placed a free kick inside the left post from 30 yards to cut the deficit in half.
Freshman Anes Mrkulic scored his first career goal four minutes later to tie it up as he poked the ball under the goalkeeper. Freshman Santo Arena earned his first career assist.
In the 87th minute, the River Hawks scored the game-winner, as the ball slowly rolled in after bouncing off several players on each side.
Monmouth fell to 2-4-1 and will play one last non-conference game against Hartford Tuesday before beginning Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play.
“We didn’t get the result we wanted, but tonight was another amazing night for our program,” Monmouth head coach Robert McCourt said. “We always challenge ourselves by playing a really difficult non-conference schedule. UMass Lowell is a fantastic program, who is a physically and mentally mature team with a lot of talent. We came back and at times really looked like we might get the win. We can take a lot from this experience and continue to build with this new group.”
