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LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell field hockey team (2-2) faced a 2-1 setback against visiting Brown University (2-0) of the Ivy League on Sunday afternoon at Wicked Blue Field in Lowell.
 
"We struggled in the first half, and that resulted in an early deficit, but we came back in the second half with much better field hockey, although we weren't able to capitalize on the opportunities presented to us," said Head Coach Shannon Hlebichuk. "We need to focus on not letting the other team dictate how we're going to play, especially in the first half, and be more confident in our style of play to perform at a high level for the entire 70 minutes."
 
Senior Bianca Jones (Watertown, Mass.), who notched the River Hawks lone goal in the decision, paced the squad with four shots, while juniors Sophie Watt (Sawtell, Australia) and Marzana Fiedtkou (Georgetown, Guyana), along with sophomore Georgia Cowderoy (Ashmore, Queensland, Australia), added one shot apiece. Freshman goalkeeper Kelsey Federico (Windham, N.H.) turned away a total of six shots on the day to tie a personal best.
 
The teams played evenly matched in the early minutes of the contest until Brown took a 1-0 advantage with 19:05 remaining in the first half, as Meghan O'Donnell dribbled towards Federico before flipping a shot up into the back of the cage.
 
UMass Lowell came close to knotting the score on several occasions, including a great cross from the far right side to the post that bounced just out of play. Jones logged UMass Lowell's only attempt on goal in the period, pushing a shot into the pads of the opposing keeper. The Bears continued to pressure, however, with five corner opportunities, but Federico and the River Hawks' backline fought off the Brown attempts to extend its buffer, keeping the margin at 1-0 in favor of the visitors at the half.
 
The River Hawks took control of the momentum coming out of the break, tying the score at 1-1 when sophomore Eleonore Agneessens (Brussels, Belgium) sent in a high pass to the post for Jones, who batted the ball into the upper right corner of the cage with just over 27 minutes to go.
 
Brown pulled ahead once again, though, on a scramble in front of the cage, during which O'Donnell pulled the ball towards the post behind Federico and lifted a backhand shot up into the open net. 
 
UMass Lowell followed with a trio of corners, but was unable to capitalize on the chances. Cowderoy then had a breakaway opportunity with 6:08 to go, firing a hard slap shot just wide, as Brown held on to take the 2-1 decision.
 
Sunday's contest between UMass Lowell and Brown marked the first meeting ever between the two schools in the sport of field hockey. The River Hawks will return to action on Friday, Sept. 12 when the squad travels to Bryant University for its first road game of the season beginning at 7 p.m.