Box Score
Box Score (PDF)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The UMass Lowell field hockey team (4-6) fell, 6-0, at Harvard University (6-2) of the Ivy League on Tuesday evening in Cambridge, Mass.
 
"Defensively between our backs and goalkeepers, we struggled in the first 35 minutes," said head coach Shannon Hlebichuk. "At halftime we talked about how when someone's having a bad day, everyone needs to bring their level of play up. We talked about bringing our intensity to the next level and not making mistakes in the backfield, and I think we did a much better job of that in the second half, however, we just weren't able to generate anything offensively. We're hopeful and confident that we're going to come out and play a much better 70 minutes against Albany."
 
Senior Bianca Jones (Watertown, Mass.) and sophomore Georgia Cowderoy (Ashmore, Queensland, Australia) paced the River Hawks with two shots apiece. Freshman goalkeeper Kelsey Federico (Windham, N.H.) logged three saves in the decision, while sophomore Averill Erdody (Milford, N.H.), who saw her first action for UMass Lowell, added one stop.
 
The Crimson struck early to take a 1-0 edge just over a minute into play. Cowderoy carried the ball all the way into the offensive zone for the River Hawks shortly after, but was tripped up before she was able to get a shot off. Harvard regained possession and was able to extend its margin to 3-0 with 23 minutes remaining in the first half.
 
UMass Lowell's first shot of the day came off of the stick of Jones, but the attempt sailed just wide. Harvard then converted three more times, and although Jones and Cowderoy tallied shots for the River Hawks, the Crimson took a 6-0 edge into the half.
 
Coming out of the break, the teams battled on both sides of the ball in a much more balanced half of action. The River Hawks earned a penalty corner to open the second half, but junior Marzana Fiedtkou's (Georgetown, Guyana) shot was kicked out of play by the opposing keeper. After trading possession for several minutes, UMass Lowell forced another corner before freshman Fiona Fitzgerald (Lexington, Mass.) threatened with a turn-around shot that skidded just left of the cage. The defense for both sides continued to extinguish opportunities in the waning minutes of the contest, sealing the 6-0 outcome for Harvard.
 
Tuesday's contest marked the fourth meeting between UMass Lowell and Harvard The Crimson now lead the all-time series, 4-0. The River Hawks will return to action on Saturday, October 4 when the squad heads to the University of Albany for its America East Conference opener at 1 p.m.