Sept. 22, 2010
Box Score
Senior Katie Enaire (Amesbury, Mass.) tallied a pair of goals and Sammy Macy (Tewksbury, Mass.) notched the game-winner as the No. 3 River Hawks (7-0) defeated the No. 9 Stonehill Skyhawks (3-4) by a score of 4-0 in non-conference action on Cushing Field Wednesday evening.
The first half was a battle in the middle of the field for both teams, trading possessions and taking turns dominating on both ends of the field. The squads entered the break at a 0-0 deadlock and each goalkeeper - UMass Lowell's Melanie Hopkins (Harwich, Mass.) and Stonehill's Courtney Osier - had saved five shots apiece through the first 35 minutes.
In the second half, it was Macy who broke the stalemate with a in the 51st minute of play. She got a pass on the far side of the circle from classmate Liz Day (North Andover, Mass.) off a penalty corner, blasting the ball to the back of the cage to put the River Hawks up 1-0.
A few minutes later, it was fellow forward Enaire that gave UMass Lowell a two-goal lead, scoring off another corner opportunity. Junior Abby Auld (Waltham, Mass.) got the rebound off the Osier's pads and saw an open Enaire in the middle of the circle, who tallied her eighth of the year.
Another penalty corner came and another goal was scored by the River Hawks, as Macy received the ball at the top of the circle and passed to Day at the low center for the tally. Day's sixth goal of the season made it a 3-0 game with 9:30 to play.
Adding another insurance goal, Enaire notched her second of the night and ninth of the year with less than five minutes remaining. Sophomore Emily Painten (Walpole, Mass.) grabbed the ball and passed it behind Osier, finding Enaire's stick to sneak around a Stonehill defender and give her squad a final score of 4-0.
Stonehill held the slight advantage in penalty corners in the first half (5-4), but UMass Lowell stormed into the second with the 11-4 advantage, capitalizing with three of their four goals off those opportunities.
The River Hawks outshot Stonehill 21-12 in the game, while Hopkins earned her sixth shutout in seven games, saving all eight shots she faced. Osier made nine saves on 13 attempts. Hopkins, the Northeast-10 Rookie/Goalkeeper of the Week, especially shined in the final five minutes of play, deflecting a pair of big Skyhawk shots late in the game to keep her team on top.
Next, the River Hawks hit the road for a noontime contest at American International College in Springfield on Saturday, Sept. 25. The match will open the River Hawks' conference schedule for 2010.
