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Aug. 19, 2010
The UMass Lowell women's and men's soccer teams, two weeks away from their season opening matches, opened preseason workouts Thursday at the Cushing Field Complex.
The UMass Lowell women, who posted a 12-5-4 record (10-3-2 in the Northeast-10 Conference), enter the season with high expectations. The River Hawks were selected to place third in the NE-10 Preseason Coaches Poll on Aug. 10.
The UMass Lowell women return 15 veterans and seven starters from the 2009 squad which advanced to the NE-10 Tournament semifinal round and drew with Merrimack, 0-0, in the NCAA Tournament first round before falling on penalty kicks, 4-3.
Headlining the list of returning players for the women is sophomore F Taylor Hartmann (Feeding Hills, Mass.) and senior F Brianne Bozzella (Wilmington, Mass.), who emerged the scoring leaders in 2009 with a combined 13 goals and six assists.
Also back is junior M Maddy Bissaillon (Merrimac, Mass.), a NE-10 First Team all-star in 2009; as well as senior D Michelle LaMar (Billerica, Mass.) and senior M Ella Merullo (Wakefield, Mass.), named to the NE-10 Third Team a year ago.
The River Hawks open the season Thursday, Sept. 2 against C.W. Post (7:30) and Saturday, Sept. 4 against Bridgeport (7:30) at the American International College Tournament.
The UMass Lowell men open the year looking to reclaim their form after a 4-12-0 showing (3-10-0 in the NE-10) in 2009. The River Hawks, who suffered seven losses by one goal, welcome back six starters and 17 veterans, including leading scorer Stephen Potcner (Wilmington, Mass.), who led the team with six goals and one assist.
Also back are junior M Matheus Candido (Lowell, Mass.) and sophomore M Ryan McLeod (Haverhill, Mass.).
The River Hawks, tabbed 10th in the NE-10 preseason poll, open the season Sept. 2 at Dowling (3:00) and Sept. 7 at Dominican (3:30).
