Oct. 6, 2011

Box Score

UMass Lowell field hockey lost for the first time in over a month, dropping a heart-breaking non-conference decision at Bentley University in overtime, 1-0, on Thursday night.

The River Hawks, who entered play with 11 consecutive wins, fall to 11-2 on the season. The Falcons got a boost, improving to 5-6 overall this year.

"Bentley out worked us, out played us and in the end, wanted to win more than us," said head coach Shannon Hlebichuk. "Simply put, they earned this win."

UMass Lowell carried an edge in play in the first half, outshooting Bentley 4-2 and out-cornering their opponent 5-1. The River Hawks put three shots on net, all on penalty corner plays, but couldn't sneak the ball into the mesh.

The tables turned in the second half as the Falcons led in shots, 6-3, and drew six corners while UMass Lowell was denied any set pieces.

Despite the mounting pressure to break the scoreless drought, neither team could put a shot on net in the second half as the majority went wide, while a few were blocked.

Unable to reach a result, the clubs continued into the overtime period. The River Hawks made the first move as defender Kayla Littig (Carver, Mass.) carried into the defense in the second minute. Littig took a shot that was blocked, but grabbed the loose ball and put the second attempt on goal to be saved by Julia Powell (Southbury, Conn.).

Even though the Falcons mustered just one on target shot in the first 70 minutes, Bentley converted its very first attempt of overtime for the game-winning goal in the 75th minute. Nicole Dion (Lunenburg, Mass.) passed from the top of the circle to Hannah Gerry (Sudbury, Mass.) in close as she beat goalkeeper Melanie Hopkins (Harwich, Mass.) for the tally.

On the night, Hopkins made one save while falling to 11-2 on the year. Her counter-part Powell managed five saves to earn the shutout and improve to 5-6.

With the loss in the books, UMass Lowell needs to recover quickly as it heads to Franklin Pierce on Saturday at 1 p.m.