Box Score
Box Score

Senior Emily Painten (Walpole, Mass.) recorded her first career hat trick to lead UMass Lowell field hockey to a 5-0 win at Franklin Pierce University on Wednesday night.

“Franklin Pierce is always a tough team, especially at their place,” said head coach Shannon Hlebichuk. “We did a great job finishing our opportunities. It was nice to see Emily [Painten] and Bianca [Jones] step up and put some shots in the net.”

The red-hot River Hawks (4-1), winners of three straight, return home this Saturday to host Adelphi at 1 PM.  The Ravens (2-2) will travel to Bentley on Saturday for a 1 PM clash with the Falcons.

The River Hawks took control of the match early, scoring three times in the first half, highlighted by a penalty stroke from junior Rachel McCarthy (Reading, Mass.) in the eighth minute of play. The reigning Northeast-10 Player of the Week now has eight goals in last three matches.

UMass Lowell's other two first half tallies came in the 23rd minute by Painten—finishing a net-front scramble—and the 25^th minute by sophomore Bianca Jones (Watertown, Mass.).

Painten then struck twice in the second half to give the River Hawks a 5-0 lead. Her second goal of the match came in the 36^th minute after she tipped in McCarty's shot from the top of the circle. She then converted in the 44^th minute, knocking in a mid-ranged strike from the right side.

Overshadowed in the offensive exploits was yet another stifling defensive effort by UMass Lowell. The River Hawks completed their third consecutive shutout, running their shutout streak to 210 minutes.

Goalkeeper Melanie Hopkins (Harwich, Mass.) kept up the pace on her outstanding junior season. The league's leading goalie, Hopkins made two saves to bolster her save percentage to .882.

Rookie Bryanna Bourbeau (Litchfield, N.H.) subbed in for the final 12-plus minutes to complete the shutout.
For the match, UMass Lowell outshot the Ravens 16-5 and out-cornered Franklin Pierce 10-5.