Tuesday, September 30 at Harvard (6 p.m.)
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Saturday, October 4 at Albany (1 p.m.)
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LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell field hockey team begins a three-game road trip with a pair of contests away from Lowell this week. The River Hawks will first make the short trip to Harvard University on Tuesday, September 30 for a 6 p.m. tilt before visiting the University of Albany on Saturday, October 4 to square off in their America East Conference opener at 1 p.m.  
 
River Hawk Review
UMass Lowell enters this week with a 4-5 overall record. In its lone outing last week, the squad battled to a 3-2 overtime victory against UC Davis of the Northern Pacific Field Hockey Conference
 
Flying High
Senior Bianca Jones (Watertown, Mass.) paces the River Hawks with nine goals, including three game-winners, for 18 total points. Sophomore Georgia Cowderoy (Ashmore, Queensland, Australia) has added to the offensive effort with two goals and three assists for seven points, while classmate Eleonore Agneessens (Brussels, Belgium) and freshman Christa Doiron (Worcester, Mass.) follow with five points apiece. Freshman Fiona Fitzgerald (Lexington, Mass.) has tallied two goals for four points, as well. Freshman goalkeeper Kelsey Federico (Windham, N.H.) has anchored the backfield with one shutout and 52 saves for a .722 save percentage.
 
Scouting Harvard
The Crimson enters Tuesday's matchup on a two-game skid after dropping a 1-0 decision against Northeastern on Sept. 24 and falling, 4-1, at Penn on Sept. 27. The Harvard offense, averaging 2.3 goals per game, is led by Marissa Balleza with five goals and one assist for 11 points. Ellie Cookson has dished out a team-high six assists and added a goal to tally eight points on the season. Issy Davies has made all seven starts in the cage, totaling 21 saves with a 1.22 goals against average.
 
Head Coach Shannon Hlebichuk on Harvard
"Tuesday will be a fun game under the lights at Harvard. They have a competitive and athletic team in a strong conference, so we will need to carry over the momentum from Saturday's overtime win in order to come out on top."
 
Scouting Albany
The Great Danes will host a tilt against Siena on Oct. 1 before opening their America East schedule with the River Hawks. Currently sitting at 7-2 this year, Albany is 1-2 against top 10 teams, with losses to No. 5 Syracuse and No. 10 Virginia sandwiched around a win at No. 8 Stanford. Paula Heuser leads the way with 10 goals and five assists for 25 points. Laura Page has a team-high seven assists. Maxi Primus has made 33 saves in nine games, and boasts a goals against average of 0.85 and a save percentage of .846.
 
Head Coach Shannon Hlebichuk on Albany
"We are excited to get conference play underway at Albany this weekend. They have been very successful so far this season and even picked up a win against a top 10 program. We know we will need to be very technically sound and consistent to force them to be at their best."
 
Series History
The River Hawks and Crimson will square off for the fourth time in the history of the two programs on Tuesday. Harvard has won all three previous meetings, including a 4-0 decision when the squads met in 2013. Saturday's contest between UMass Lowell and Albany will mark the sixth meeting between the two schools in the sport of field hockey, following a 4-0 Great Danes' victory in last year.
 
News to Note
The River Hawks 2-0 start in 2014 marked their best since 2010 when the squad went 24-0 and won the NCAA Division II National Championship. In addition, the team's 4-3, double-overtime win against Longwood on Aug. 31 was its first overtime win since Sept. 4, 2011 (vs. #9 Millersville), and first ever in Division I. UMass Lowell has come on strong late in games this season, scoring nine of their 15 goals so far in either second half or overtime action. Kelsey Federico notched a personal-best 11 saves against UMass on Sept. 14. The team's 3-2 win at Quinnipiac on Sept. 16 was the program's first Division I road win. With the 3-2 win against UC Davis on Sept. 27, the River Hawks improved to 2-0 in overtime this year. Bianca Jones logged her first hat trick of the season to lift UMass Lowell to that victory against the Aggies.