ALBANY – A hard driving rain and an extra 12 minutes of soccer could not put a damper on The College of Saint Rose perfect season as the Golden Knights upended visiting Northeast-10 Conference rival UMass Lowell 1-0 in double overtime today at The Albany Academies.

The match featured two nationally ranked teams who allowed only nine goals collectively throughout nearly 3,000 minutes of soccer prior to the 1:00 pm kickoff. The Golden Knights (17-0-0/14-0-0 NE-10), ranked #2 for the third straight week in the most recent NSCAA/Adidas Division II poll, had given up a mere four goals all season. Meanwhile, the #15 River Hawks (11-3-3/10-2-2 NE-10) saw their string of 12 consecutive shutouts snapped after they surrendered five goals throughout their first four matches of the year.

Both teams generated quality chances throughout the contest, but it was Saint Rose sophomore forward Nicola D'Errico who brought the evenly played match to a halt in the 102nd minute. D'Errico headed a corner kick from the right flag off the foot of sophomore midfielder Christina Cuffari that sailed inside the top-right post to keep the Golden Knights unblemished record intact.

Conversely, UMass Lowell senior keeper Jamie Gillis had her NCAA Division II shutout record broken at 1,333 consecutive minutes. Gillis finished with four saves on the day, while Saint Rose sophomore Susan Cowan turned aside six UMass Lowell on-target threats.

UMass Lowell outshot Saint Rose by a 13-12 margin, although the Golden Knights generated 10 corner kicks and yielded only five.

Saint Rose produced four shots in the opening four minutes to gain early momentum, but UMass Lowell junior midfielder Brianne Bozzella had the best look early on when she turned in the box and chipped a ball that floated just over the crossbar in the 29th minute. Ten minutes later, junior midfielder Amanda Schweers let go a shot from 25-yards out that forced Gillis off her feet. Gillis barely got a piece of it as the ball deflected off her outstretched hands and ricocheted off the crossbar, before sailing harmlessly out of bounds.

The Golden Knights almost struck again in the opening two minutes of the second half when senior midfielder Deanna Wachtel found herself in open space inside the box. However, her rocket from 15-yards out rebounded off the lower right post to keep the match scoreless.

The River Hawks had the final clear opportunity in regulation when freshman midfielder Jenna Costa drove a strike from 25-yards deep in the central channel that Cowan deflected over the crossbar in the 60th minute. At that point, the game appeared destined for overtime.

Up next, both teams are scheduled to conclude the regular-season portion of their 2009 schedule Wednesday. The Golden Knights travel to Syracuse to face upstate rival Le Moyne. Kickoff is set for 4:00 pm. Meanwhile, the River Hawks have a 7:00 pm home NE-10 date with Merrimack.

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