BOSTON – Freshman Hannah Lopiccolo scored two goals off assists from freshman Kayla Cappuzzo as the Northeastern women’s soccer team opened the 2014 season with a 3-0 win over UMass Lowell on Friday at Parsons Field.

Sophomore Carina Deandreis also scored her first collegiate goal as the Huskies earned their first win over a non-conference opponent since a 2-0 victory over Albany on Sept. 16, 2012.

Northeastern outshot UMass Lowell by a 17-5 margin and held a 6-0 advantage in corner kicks. Lopiccolo and Cappuzzo each had three shots to lead all players.

After a quiet opening 25 minutes, the Huskies nearly went ahead through senior Lahaina Zoller, who took a feed from Cappuzzo and ripped a shot off the crossbar at the 25:56 mark. Northeastern kept its foot on the gas, however, and found the back of the net just minutes later when Cappuzzo drove down the right wing and crossed for Lopiccolo, who made no mistake with a one-time finish in the 31st minute.

The lead held until midway through the second stanza when Cappuzzo and Lopiccolo combined yet again. Sophomore Haley Sinclair collected the ball in the right corner and slipped a pass to Cappuzzo, who was making a run toward the near post. Cappuzzo hit the brakes and dropped a feed to Lopiccolo for a shot that curled into the top left corner to make it 2-0 in the 67th minute.

Lopiccolo’s bid for the hat trick was denied only minutes later when the freshman deked around a defender on the left wing and let loose a shot from outside the box that was stopped by UMass Lowell keeper Jill Carlson.

With the defense holding steady, Northeastern continued to press on and found a third goal in the waning minutes of the match. Freshman Carly Wilhelm directed a pass to Deandreis, who eluded two defenders cutting to her left, before ripping a shot with her left foot that bounced off the far post and in with 3:31 left in the match.

Northeastern keeper Paige Burnett was put to the test in the final two minutes when the Riverhawks’ Brittany Russo ripped a free kick on target that the Huskies’ keeper did well to claim. Burnett made two saves in the game to earn her 15th career clean sheet.

The Huskies are back in action on Sunday, Aug. 24 against La Salle. Opening kick from Parsons Field is set for 1 p.m.

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