LOWELL, Mass. – It took a full 80 minutes of game action plus a shootout to decide, but the UMass Lowell field hockey team (4-2, 2-1 AE) defeated America East opponent UC Davis (1-3, 0-2 AE), 1-0, in a Tuesday afternoon thriller.
 
With the win, the River Hawks improve to 3-0 in the shootout at the Division I level. The team also finished its three-game homestand with back-to-back league wins.
 
"It was certainly a hard-fought game by both UMass Lowell and UC Davis," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "What I really liked out of our team was we kept getting better with every quarter. I didn't think we were very sharp in quarters one and two, but three and four we really stepped up our attack and made some tactical changes, and were seeing the benefits from them."
 
The Aggies took a slight edge in shots overall in the contest, 15-12, but were limited to just two chances in the second half. The visitors also earned eight corners on the day, compared to just one for the River Hawks, forcing a stalwart defensive showing from the home squad, who stood up to the challenge. Freshman goalkeeper Eleonore Boekhorst (Bilthoven, Netherlands) logged a season-high seven saves and held the visitors to just one made attempt in the shootout en route to her third shutout of the year.
 
"I thought when we got into the overtimes, our fitness was showing," added LeBlanc. "We were really thinking out there, making really good passes. I think we were excited for our first shootout of the 2021 season without a tremendous amount of practice, but enough of our mentally tough players out there, and Leo coming up really big in the cage."
 
Sophomore Kate Miller (Cherry Hill, N.J.) threatened to end the game in the first overtime period, but the Aggies' Kalli Wagnon came up with a big stop. Freshman Alissia de Vries (The Hague, Netherlands) then sailed a ball just wide in the second extra period before Boekhorst made an important save in the 78th minute of action to send the game into the shootout.
 
The teams alternated attempts and were knotted at 1-1 through the first four shooters, as freshman Mirthe Gans (Tiel, Netherlands) found the back of the cage for the River Hawks. Miller would cross a ball to the far corner to beat the opposing keeper on the team's fifth and final attempt for what would become the game-winner. Boekhorst then thwarted the retaliation chance and sealed the exciting decision by knocking the ball loose from the Aggies' last shooter.
 
"Kate said she saw the faintest line where a ball could travel through," concluded the veteran coach. "So I give her a lot of credit for finding that against a very good goalkeeper."
 
The River Hawks will continue America East play on the road, when they visit Monmouth on Friday, March 26 for a 1 p.m. tilt.