BURLINGTON, Vt. – Stingy defenses ruled the day, but the UMass Lowell field hockey team (9-3, 4-1 AE) was able to prevail, earning a 1-0 win at America East opponent Vermont (9-2, 3-2 AE) on Friday afternoon.
 
The River Hawks handed the Catamounts their first loss against an unranked opponent this season and first shutout in the last 10 games. With the victory, UMass Lowell becomes the first America East team to reach four conference wins in 2022.

"Our play in the first half was admirable against a very talented Vermont team," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "I don't think we had our best performance in the second half, but I loved the grit and character we showed to hold onto this very important win."
 
Graduate student Jenna Berger (Waterloo, Ontario) tallied the lone goal of the game on a first-half corner to help lift the visitors to the victory. As a team, the River Hawks took a slight, 5-4 edge in shots on goal in an outing that was dominated by the defense. Junior goalkeeper Eleonore Boekhorst (Bilthoven, Netherlands) led a defensive corner unit that fended off nine Catamount chances, in addition to totaling four saves in the cage en route to her 12^th career shutout.  
 
The River Hawks earned a pair of corners in the first quarter of action, but the Catamount defensive core blocked both attempts to survive the threat and keep the game scoreless through the first 15 minutes.
 
UMass Lowell kept the pressure on and tested veteran Vermont goalkeeper Sierra Espeland twice to open the second, although back-to-back shots from senior Kate Miller (Cherry Hill, N.J.) and Berger were kicked away.
 
However, the River Hawks finally broke open the scoreless stalemate on their fourth corner of the first half in the 27^th minute, when junior Alissia de Vries (The Hague, Netherlands) pushed a strong pass towards the post where Berger was set up for the redirect that put her squad up, 1-0, at the break.
 
The Catamounts' Alina Gerke threatened in the third quarter. She first fired a hard ball on a corner in the 36^th minute that was pawed away by Boekhorst, and three minutes later on a breakaway, she pulled a shot just wide.
 
The home team added four more shots in the fourth and final quarter, including a Gerke tip that missed just over the top of the crossbar, as the River Hawks held on for the 1-0 decision.
 
UMass Lowell is back in action on Sunday, October 9 when the team visits No. 15 Harvard for a 1 p.m. start.