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LOWELL, Mass. – Juniors Fiona Fitzgerald (Lexington, Mass.) and Christa Doiron (Worcester, Mass.) tallied two goals apiece to lead the UMass Lowell field hockey team (7-7) to a 7-1 victory in a non-conference matchup against Lehigh (5-10) on Senior Day.
 
"Today was a special day for us, celebrating our seniors and our alums, so to come out and score seven goals in a game that I thought was important to us to build off of for the next couple weeks was awesome to watch," said Head Coach Shannon Hlebichuk. "We got everyone in and got some good, quality minutes, and had some people put balls in the cage that hadn't scored yet this season. I'm really proud of everyone's efforts."
 
Fitzgerald set a new single-game career high with her two goals, while Doiron's performance marked her third multi-goal game of the year. Senior Kristin Aveni (Westminster, Mass.), junior Katie Luchino (Freehold, N.J.) and freshman Mikayla Paone (Watertown, Mass.) rounded out the River Hawks' five goal scorers on the day. The team also had five different players with at least one assist, including Luchino and sophomore Torrie Huk (Milford, Del.), who notched two helpers each.
 
The River Hawks got on the board just two minutes into the game, when freshman Anouk Lalande (Brussels, Belgium) sent a ball inside the circle for Aveni, who then put the one-timer on target.
 
The home squad continued to keep the pressure on in the first half with a good attempt by Huk on a penalty corner than rang off the post in the 10th minute. Lehigh gained some momentum with back-to-back corners, but River Hawk defense kept the Mountain Hawks scoreless.
 
UMass Lowell extended its margin to 3-0 pair of goals less than a minute apart, as Luchino found the back of the cage on a corner opportunity and Doiron finished off a pass from Huk. In the waning minutes of the first, Fitzgerald made a nice spin move around the opposing keeper before tucking her first goal of the year into the right corner to give her squad the 4-0 advantage at the break.
 
Doiron and Fitzgerald each tallied another goal in the opening minutes of the second half to make the score 6-0. Lehigh was able to snap the shutout in the 52nd minute, but Paone would respond for the River Hawks with her first career goal in the 55th to help seal the 7-1 outcome.
 
Prior to the contest, seniors Aveni, Eleonore Agneessens (Brussels, Belgium), Georgia Cowderoy (Ashmore, Queensland, Australia) and Annie VIllare (Chelmsford, Mass.) were honored with a special ceremony. Freshman Eva Berkhout (Amersfoort, Utrecht, Netherlands) and junior Kelsey Federico (Windham, N.H.) split time in the cage with four saves each en route to the win.
 
Sunday's matchup marked the first meeting ever between UMass Lowell and Lehigh in the sport of field hockey. The River Hawks will close out 2016 with four more America East Conference outings beginning on Thursday, October 20 when they visit Maine for a 3 p.m. tilt.