Oct. 27, 2010
Box Score
Senior forward Katie Enaire (Amesbury, Mass.) led the way with a pair of goals, as the No. 2 UMass Lowell River Hawks completed their regular season sweep of No. 6 Stonehill College in a 4-0 game in Easton, Mass. on Wednesday evening.
With the conference victory, UMass Lowell was able to overtake the top spot in the Northeast-10 Conference standings. The two squads represent the first and second ranked teams in the NCAA Division II North Region Polls and are both ranked in the top 10 of the Kookaburra/NFHCA Division II National Coaches Poll. But, for the second time in as many meetings this season, UMass Lowell defeated its conference rival by a 4-0 score. With the victory, UMass Lowell improves to 16-0 overall with a 6-0 mark in conference action, while the Skyhawks fall to 11-5 on the year with a 7-1 record in the NE-10.
Enaire struck early, putting away the eventual game-winner just 6:35 into the game. She took a shot from five yards out, collecting the ball from a scramble in front of the cage and banging it to the back of the goal.
Less than five minutes later, junior Abby Auld (Waltham, Mass.) netted her first goal of the season, tipping in a ball from senior midfielder Liz Day (North Andover, Mass.) who sent in a long drive from the top of the circle. The squad was able to hold onto the 2-0 lead entering the break.
Despite the score, Stonehill outpossessed the River Hawks in the first half and UMass Lowell came back strong in the second frame. Just over 13 minutes into the second half, senior forward Sammy Macy (Tewksbury, Mass.) grabbed a rebound and hit a drive from six yards out, sneaking the ball in through the right side, putting her squad up 3-0.
Enaire wasn’t done for the night, adding another insurance tally, her 18th of the year, just over two minutes after Macy’s goal. She got a feed from the right side and hit a drive from the center of the circle, capping the UMass Lowell victory at 4-0.
Stonehill outshot UMass Lowell 20-17 in the game, but despite a 10-5 Skyhawk advantage in the first half, the River Hawks answered back, owning the 12-10 edge in the second. Similarly, Stonehill out-cornered UMass Lowell 11-6 in the game, as the River Hawks let up an uncharacteristic seven penalty corners in the first half, earning just three of their own. In the second stanza, however, UMass Lowell held Stonehill to just four, not allowing the Skyhawks to score on any of their 11 opportunities.
NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Week Melanie Hopkins (Harwich, Mass.) made nine stops on the night, halting every Skyhawk shot she faced. The nine saves was her second-best performance of the year, second only to a 10-save showing at Indiana (Pa.) on Sept. 5. With Hopkins’ 13th shutout of the year, the River Hawks have stretched their shutout streak to eight games and 595:28 consecutive shutout minutes.
Stonehill’s Courtney Osier played 64:43 and made seven stops, allowing four goals on the night before she was relieved in the final five minutes by Kaitlyn Curtis, who stopped the only shot she faced.
Next on the docket, the River Hawks will host Franklin Pierce for a conference game on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. on Cushing Field.
