Oct. 20, 2010

Box Score

Led by senior forward Sammy Macy's (Tewksbury, Mass.) two goals, the No. 2 UMass Lowell field hockey team (14-0) defeated the Yellow Jackets of American International College (7-6), 4-0, in non-conference action this evening on Cushing Field. With their 11th shutout of the season, they broke a pair of school records, including six consecutive shutouts and 455:28 consecutive shutout minutes.

With Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week Melanie Hopkins (Harwich, Mass.) recording her sixth consecutive shutout and 11th of the year, the River Hawks broke the school record with six consecutive shutouts (previously set at five in 2008) and consecutive shutout minutes with 455:28 (previously set at 385:28 in 2008).

Macy opened scoring in the sixth minute of play, creating her own shot by dribbling across the front of the cage and hooking it back from the left corner. Macy's 18th goal of the year put her squad up 1-0.

In the 10th minute of play, classmate Katie Enaire (Amesbury, Mass.) doubled the River Hawk lead, scoring her 16th of the year. Fellow forward Lizzy Ales (Arlington, Mass.) had the ball along the left side baseline and crossed it to Enaire who was waiting for a backdoor shot through the right corner.

Macy and Enaire struck again midway through the first half, as Enaire grabbed a rebound, tempting AIC goalkeeper Nicole Spence out of the cage. Enaire controlled the ball and found Macy's stick to sneak it behind Spence put UMass Lowell up 3-0, a lead they would hold onto through the break.

Freshman Rachel McCarthy (Reading, Mass.) recorded her seventh goal of the year, an insurance tally, with just over five minutes remaining in the game. Sophomore Vanessa Kent (Charlton, Mass.) grabbed the rebound off a shot by Annie Hansbury (Plaistow, N.H.) on a penalty corner and snuck it to McCarthy in the corner to seal the River Hawks' 4-0 victory.

The River Hawks owned the 30-3 advantage in shots in the game, including 17-1 in the second half. They also held the 13-5 edge in penalty corners - 10-2 in the second half.

Hopkins made a clutch save at the end of the first, stopping a breakaway attempt by AIC. While Spence started the game for the Yellow Jackets and made seven stops on the night, she was relieved in the first half by Kim Steiner, who made 11 saves and allowed just one goal.

Next up, the River Hawks head to Colchester, Vt. for a conference game against the Purple Knights of Saint Michael's College on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.