Box Score (PDF)

LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Anouk Lalande (Brussels, Belgium) recorded two goals to help propel the UMass Lowell field hockey team (6-4, 1-2 AE) to an exciting, 3-1 victory against America East Conference rival New Hampshire (3-7, 1-1 AE) on Sunday afternoon.
 
"We know that the conference games are going to be the biggest challenges we have because everybody is pretty even," said Head Coach Shannon Hlebichuk. "So for us to come out after a tough one on Friday and show the character that we showed today with discipline and a quick style of play, makes me really proud of our performance."
 
The decision not only marked the River Hawks' first conference win of the year, but was just the second time the program has ever topped New Hampshire and its first time since 2016.  
 
The River Hawks tallied their first goal of the 2018 conference season less than two minutes into play, as freshman Grace Davis (Waterloo, Ontario) pushed a short pass to Lalande, who lifted a reverse-stick chip shot up and over the falling UNH keeper to give the home squad an early, 1-0 lead.
 
UMass Lowell kept the pressure on and almost extended its margin, but the Wildcats came up with two big saves before knotting the game at 1-1 on a one-timer from Finn Caron in the 18th minute.  
 
The teams battled to break the stalemate for the remainder of the half until the River Hawks converted on a corner in the final seconds. On that play, sophomore Katie Lynes (Oakville, Ontario) dropped to her knee to get control of a pass from Berger in the middle of a scrum and was able to finish it off, giving her squad a 2-1 lead at the break.
 
After halftime, the River Hawks made it 3-1 in the 48th minute thanks to Lalande's second goal of the day. This time, she set herself up on the right post in time to redirect a hard ball from sophomore Clara Defourt (Brussels, Belgium) on target.
 
Junior goalkeeper Eva Berkhout (Amersfoort, Utrecht, Netherlands), who totaled seven saves in the decision, made three stops in the final six minutes to help seal the outcome.
 
Sunday's contest marked the ninth meeting between UMass Lowell and New Hampshire in the sport of field hockey. The Wildcats still own a 7-2 advantage in the all-time series. Up next, the River Hawks head out on a three-game road swing beginning Friday, October 5 at UAlbany at 3 p.m.