Box Score (PDF) | Postgame Interview | Highlights

LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell field hockey team (3-4), who scored a pair of second half goals to pull within one, faced a hard-fought, 4-3 setback against Hofstra (5-4) on a rainy Friday evening at Wicked Blue Field.
 
"Anytime you put yourself in a three-goal deficit, it's going to be really hard to come back and win the game," said Head Coach Shannon Hlebichuk. "I thought we struggled with goal scoring a bit in the first half, but came out with a new intensity in the second half and put ourselves back in a position to win the game. We just couldn't find the back of the cage."
 
Three different River Hawks scored in the outing, as UMass Lowell outshot Hofstra, 23-21. Junior Katie Luchino (Freehold, N.J.), and sophomores Torrie Huk (Milford, Del.) and Carleen O'Connell (Madison, N.J.) each logged one goal apiece. Senior Georgia Cowderoy (Ashmore, Queensland, Australia) picked up the team's only assist on the night. Junior goalkeeper Kelsey Federico (Windham, N.H.) registered eight saves to move to 2-4 overall in 2016.
 
The teams played evenly matched in the opening minutes, trading shots on target, until Hofstra pulled ahead, 2-0, with a pair of goals from Claudia Marin Samper. Samper first put the Pride on the board in the 10th minute when she received a shot from the right side of the circle and sent a sweeping stroke up over Federico's outstretched stick. Less than two minutes later, she struck again, this time finishing her own rebound.
 
Emily Gallagher extended the Hofstra's lead to 3-0, but the River Hawks battled to take control of the momentum in the waning minutes of the half, scoring their first goal of the contest on a corner opportunity in the 28th minute. On that play, Luchino sent the initial shot on target before Huk collected the rebound off the goalkeeper's pads and finished an attempt of her own, making the score 3-1 Hofstra at the break.
 
Although the Pride opened the scoring in the second half with a goal by Madison Sauve, UMass Lowell answered back just 30 seconds later, as O'Connell chipped a shot into the top corner to put her squad within two at 4-2 in the 45th minute.
 
The home team continued to play aggressively on offense, taking advantage of another corner chance in the 53rd minute with a hard shot on target by Luchino that cut the difference to just one. However, the Pride was able to hold off the River Hawks in the final minutes to seal the 4-3 decision.
 
Friday's contest marked the seven meeting between UMass Lowell and Hofstra in the sport of field hockey. The Pride now owns a 6-0-1 advantage in the all-time series. The River Hawks are back in action on Sunday, September 25 when they visit Providence for a 1 p.m. tilt.