Box Score

Defender Sarah Wilcox (Old Town, Maine) started off her senior year with a bang, scoring a goal and an assist to lead UMass Lowell field hockey over Limestone College, 3-0, in Millersville, PA to open the 2012 campaign.

“Limestone was disciplined and relentless; they made us work hard to score all three goals,” said head coach Shannon Hlebichuk. “We are still progressing and will make adjustments, but our focus will remain on one game at a time. We're always happy to start the season with a win.”

The River Hawks (1-0) will stay in Millersville, PA for another night to take on the Millersville Marauders tomorrow afternoon at 2 PM. The Saints (0-1) will also hang around as they're slated to play Bentley at 11 AM on Saturday.

UMass Lowell cashed in during the 15^th minute with Wilcox's first goal of the year on a penalty corner taken by classmate Vanessa Kent (Charlton, Mass.).

The Saints kept the score to 1-0 heading into the half despite the River Hawks' 6-1 lead in shots on goal and 12-1 advantage on penalty corners.

The persistent pressure paid off for UMass Lowell in the second half with a pair of tallies. Sophomore Bianca Jones (Watertown, Mass.) scored her first goal of the season in the 53^rd minute. Dating back to last season, Jones has scored five goals in her last six games.

A few minutes later the River Hawks successfully executed another penalty corner. Kent sent the ball in to Wilcox, who found junior Melissa Effertz (Oceanside, Calif.) for the finish at 62:44.

UMass Lowell's defense held on over the final seven minutes to complete the shutout. In all, River Hawk defenders blocked two shots and limited Limestone to just two penalty corners.

Goalkeeper Melanie Hopkins (Harwich, Mass.) starts off the season 1-0, making four saves. Friday's result marked the 24^th shutout of Hopkins' career.

Overall, UMass Lowell outshot the Saints 24-7 (11-4 shots on goal) and out-cornered them 19-2.