Box Score (PDF)
LOWELL, Mass. – Despite taking a two-goal lead into halftime, the UMass Lowell field hockey team (6-6, 1-1 AE) fell, 3-2, in overtime against America East foe Maine (7-3, 1-0 AE) on Sunday afternoon at Wicked Blue Field.
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Sophomore
Anouk Lalande (Brussels, Belgium) tallied both scores for the River Hawks in the outing to improve to a team-high 22 points this season.
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"I thought we played a great first half," said Head Coach
Shannon Hlebichuk. "Going up 2-0 and having some confidence going into the second half was good. Overall, we didn't play our best in the second half, and allowing them to score two unanswered goals deflated us a little bit. We just didn't take care of the details at the end of the game with earning those late corners to finish it off."
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The game-winner came from Hana Davis just shy of 11 minutes into the overtime period. The freshman Black Bear stole the ball and carried the ball into the circle before firing on target to end the match.
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The teams played end-to-end in the first 15 minutes of the game, trading three shots apiece. UMass Lowell opened the scoring in the 16th minute on a corner opportunity, as freshman
Clara Defourt (Brussels, Belgium) swept a strong pass to the right post where Lalande was set up for the tip in.
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The defense for both sides controlled the momentum for the majority of the period, though, with no shots in the next 15 minutes. However, the River Hawks were able to extend their margin to 2-0 in the 32nd minute when senior
Christa Doiron (Worcester, Mass.) broke away from the pack, dribbling into the circle and beating the last defender with a pass to Lalande, who put the one-timer on cage.
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Coming out of halftime, the Black Bears quickly cut the difference back to one, taking advantage of a corner chance with a goal off the stick of Brianna Ricker. The River Hawks then forced three corners of their own, but the visitors knotted the score at 2-2 in the 57th minute thanks to a backhanded sweep through traffic from Ricker.
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The home team threatened with three more corners in the final minutes of regulation, but were unable to convert, sending the game into extra time.
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Sunday's contest marked the 13th meeting in the all-time series between UMass Lowell and Maine, as the Black Bears own an 11-1-1 advantage. The River Hawks remain at home for two more games next weekend beginning with a Friday night tilt on October 6 against America East rival New Hampshire. That match is set to begin at 7 p.m.
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