Box Score (PDF)

ORONO, Maine – The UMass Lowell field hockey team (5-10, 0-5) fell, 2-0, at America East Conference opponent No. 19 Maine (15-2, 5-0) on Sunday afternoon.
 
"To hold two ranked teams to five goals this weekend was a positive for us," said Head Coach Shannon Hlebichuk. "Kelsey Federico is playing exactly how we need her to play. We need our attack to generate more opportunities and finish. Once we get that piece to the puzzle, we will be putting ourselves in a better position to win some games in this stretch of the season."
 
The River Hawks pressured early, as junior Eleonore Agneessens (Brussels, Belgium) tallied the first shot of the day. Maine followed with four consecutive corner opportunities, and threatened to break the game open with a shot by Casey Crowley that ricocheted off the post.
 
The Black Bears opened up the scoring with just over 16 minutes remaining in the first half when Danielle Aviani broke away from the defense and dribbled into the circle alone before slotting a shot past Federico to the far corner.
 
UMass Lowell drew a corner in the last three minutes of the first half. On the play, senior Kelly Freitas (Manchester, N.H.) inserted the ball to classmate Sophie Watt (Sawtell, Australia), but her sweeping shot from the wing sailed wide, keeping the home team's 1-0 buffer intact at the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, Maine kept the ball in its attacking zone, tallying the first nine shots and five corners in the second. However, Federico and the River Hawk defense did not waiver, allowing the visitors to remain just one goal behind.
 
Maine was able to extend its margin to 2-0 with nine minutes left in the outing, though. Crowley sent a through ball up the field to Libby Riedl, who took off into the circle and fired on the run, finding the upper portion of the cage.
 
The River Hawks forced one last corner with two minutes to go, but senior Marzana Fiedtkou (Georgetown, Guyana) sent her shot wide left, sealing the 2-0 decision for Maine.

Federico tied a season high with 12 saves on the day.
 
Sunday's contest marked the eighth meeting ever between UMass Lowell and Maine in the sport of field hockey, as well as the second meeting between the squads this year. The Black Bears now own a 7-1-1 advantage in the all-time series. Up next, the River Hawks are scheduled to host Liberty University on Friday, October 23 at 3:30 p.m.