LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell field hockey team (1-1) turned in a strong defensive performance in a hard-fought, 1-0 setback against No. 6 UConn (2-2) on Sunday afternoon.
 
"We were a little frustrated," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "I thought we were pretty competitive throughout the game, we just didn't finish some opportunities that we created for ourselves. So that is slightly disappointing, but in fairness, this is only our second game and we competed really hard against a very talented UConn team. I loved our grit and our work rate. I saw some really good things out there and some things that we need to clean up a bit, but I feel really confident going forward."
 
Junior Berbel Rozema (Rotterdam, Netherlands) and freshman Jillian Loebs (Acton, Mass.) each tallied a shot on goal in the outing, while sophomore goalkeeper Eleonore Boekhorst (Bilthoven, Netherlands) totaled five saves in the cage for the River Hawks. The Huskies' Cheyenne Sprecher recorded a pair of stops to pick up her second win of the season.
 
Sophia Ugo fired hard on target less than three minutes into the contest to test Boekhorst early, but the keeper knocked it out of the air to keep the game scoreless. On the other end of the field, senior Jenna Berger (Waterloo, Ontario), who is freshly back in the States after winning gold with Team Canada at the Junior Pan American Championships, sent a reverse-stick shot sailing just high for the home team's first attempt of the day in the 10^th minute.
 
UMass Lowell would extinguish back-to-back UConn corners late in the first quarter, but the visitors broke open the scoring in the 17^th minute, as Ugo was well-positioned for a rebound off Boekhorst's pads and sent back a one-timer that crossed just over the goal line.
 
The River Hawks had a chance to retaliate on a breakaway in the waning minutes of the half off a corner when Berger dribbled a ball over to Loebs, who got a stick on it, but it was kicked away by Sprecher.
 
Coming out of halftime, the teams traded possession before Rozema had a shot booted away, although the River Hawks were awarded their first corner following the play. The UMass Lowell defense continued to hold steadfast, killing off another Husky corner with seven seconds to go in the third, protecting the 1-0 deficit.
 
In the fourth quarter, sophomore Mirthe Gans (Tiel, Netherlands) made a stance at the goal line for a defensive save to keep the River Hawks within striking distance, but the squad was unable to net the equalizer in the 1-0 outcome.
 
The River Hawks now head to Boston University on Friday, September 10 for a 6 p.m. tilt.