LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Alissia de Vries (The Hague, Netherlands) logged her first two career goals to help lead the UMass Lowell field hockey team (11-5, 5-2 AE) to a 4-1 victory against Bryant (4-13, 0-7 AE) in the team's 2022 Morgan's Message Dedication Game.
 
With the win, the River Hawks have clinched a berth into the America East Championship for the fourth time. The decision also matches a DI program best for conference wins (5) and continues to improve on the Division I record for wins in a season (11).
 
"I didn't think we performed to our abilities in the first half with regards to goal scoring," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "We had a tremendous amount of opportunities with not a lot to show on the scoreboard, so I loved how we came out in the second half and created more opportunities with some outcomes."
 
De Vries finished the day with a career-high five points thanks to the two goals and an assist. Graduate student Jenna Berger (Waterloo, Ontario) added three points on one goal and assist, while senior Berbel Rozema (Rotterdam, Netherlands) and junior Mirthe Gans (Tiel, Netherlands) chipped in with one goal and two assists, respectively, to round out the UMass Lowell point scorers.
 
Junior goalkeeper Eleonore Boekhorst (Bilthoven, Netherlands) made three stops in the contest. As a team, the River Hawks outshot the Bulldogs, 34-6, with an 18-4 advantage on corners.
 
The River Hawks quickly pulled play into their offensive zone in the opening minutes of the contest. The team earned two consecutive corners less than three minutes in, converting on the second, as de Vries tipped the ball over to Rozema for the backhanded finish.
 
The home team kept the pressure on with five more corners in the first quarter, including a chance by freshman Meike Vischer (The Hague, Netherlands) that sailed just wide.
 
Staunch defense abruptly ended the Bulldogs' first corner chance in the 20^th minute without a shot. Just over a minute later, Bryant had another opportunity on a set piece, but Berger set up out front for the block, keeping the visitors scoreless.
 
However, Bryant kept knocking, as Ashley Barron rang the post on a breakaway in the 27^th minute. Then in the 29^th, Lotte Guitink dribbled to her right before firing home a slapshot to even the board at 1-1 heading into the half.
 
The River Hawk offensive corner unit came on strong in the third quarter, scoring twice to regain the upper hand for the home team. Berger first finished a tip before de Vries netted a direct corner.
 
Late in the third, senior Kate Miller (Cherry Hill, N.J.) threatened with back-to-back slap shots from the wing, but the corner conversion would continue in the fourth when de Vries knocked home the team's final tally of the day on another direct attempt, helping to seal the 4-1 outcome.
 
The River Hawks now host California on Friday, October 28 at 1 p.m. to open the final weekend of the regular season.