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LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell field hockey team (1-2) faced an 8-0 setback against in-state foe Massachusetts (2-2) on Sunday afternoon in the fourth annual Kennedy Cup Game. The Kennedy Cup, named after John F. Kennedy, began in 2013 as an annual matchup between the two Division I UMass campuses.
 
"First and foremost, a lot of credit goes to UMass Amherst, who I thought played an outstanding game," said Head Coach Shannon Hlebichuk. "They were tough all over the field, from their young goalkeeper forward. I thought our effort was lacking, which as a coach, is hard to watch your team compete how they did on Friday at such a high and then play down to how we did today."
 
Freshman Tori Hannah (Plainsboro, N.J.) registered the River Hawks' first shot of the day in the opening minutes, but the Minutewomen were able to build an early lead beginning when Nicole Miller sent a shot high into the right corner. Sarah Hawkshaw followed with one of her own from the top of the circle before Nicole Kuerzi redirected a pass from Katie Clark on cage to make the score 3-0 just 12 minutes into play.
 
The visitors converted on a pair of corner opportunities during the remainder of the first half, taking a 5-0 edge into the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, Massachusetts took advantage of another corner, as Izzie Delario inserted the ball to Cliodhna Loughlin, whose stick stop set up Melanie Kreusch for the goal.   
 
Freshman Anouk Lalande (Brussels, Belgium), who led the River Hawks with two shots in the contest, had a breakaway opportunity with 12 minutes left to go, but the Minutewomen's Emily Hazard extinguished the chance.
 
The River Hawks' freshman goalkeeper Eva Berkhout (Amersfoort, Utrecht, Netherlands) saw her first action on the young season in the second half, making seven stops in her collegiate debut. However, the visitors added two more goals in the final three minutes of the outing to secure an 8-0 decision.
 
Sunday's contest marked the fourth meeting ever between UMass Lowell and Massachusetts in the sport of field hockey. The Minutewomen own a 4-0 lead in the all-time series. The River Hawks will return to action on Friday, September 9 when they visit Holy Cross for a 5 p.m. tilt.