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Season In Review

12/14/2022 2:55:00 PM

LOWELL, Mass. - The UMass Lowell field hockey team soared to new heights in 2022, compiling record after record throughout the season.

The 2022 season was special. The leadership was outstanding, the on-field performance was consistent and dominant at times, and each player committed to our ultimate goal of earning a spot in the America East Championship. I am so proud of this group. They showed up everyday to compete, learn and win. It was a truly impressive season from start to finish.

Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc

The squad finished 12-7 overall on the year, which not only marked the River Hawks’ third straight winning season, but also set a new a Division I program best for wins.

In conference play, the River Hawks once again set a new bar. The team went a program-best 6-2 in America East play to tie UAlbany for a historic second-place finish in the regular-season standings and clinch the No. 3 seed for the America East Championship for the first time ever.

UMass Lowell was strong from the start, mounting a six-game win streak from September 5-25. That streak became the longest at the Division I level, so far, improving upon a four-game run in 2021.

A 2-1 win against Patriot League power Boston University on Sept. 9 highlighted the non-conference portion of the six-game win streak. After the Terriers evened the score at 1-1 to start the third quarter of that contest, the game remained tied until freshman Meike Vischer (The Hague, Netherlands) tipped a hard ball by junior Mirthe Gans (Tiel, Netherlands) into the cage on a corner in the 52nd minute for her first career tally and the game-winner.

September 9, 2022, Lowell, MA:
Umass Lowell Field Hockey takes on the Boston University Terriers at Wicked Blue Field in Lowell, Massachusetts. Friday, September 9, 2022.
(Photo by Nick Grace/UMass Lowell Athletics)

The River Hawks’ 6-0 run concluded with a 3-0 start to America East action, good for another program best for the Division I era. Wins against Stanford and New Hampshire bookended a 4-3 shootout thriller against UC Davis on Sept. 18. Freshman Madison Leeper (East Amherst, N.Y.) would decide that one with a twisting, full layout to guide a ball around the opposing keeper in highlight reel fashion.

Full send for the shootout WIN! Gotta be an #SCTop10, right @ESPNAssignDesk?! ?? #UnitedInBlue | #AEFH pic.twitter.com/D29sSjqprU
— UMass Lowell FH (@RiverHawkFH) September 19, 2022

The squad boasted newfound scoring and depth in 2022. The team outscored its opponents, 47-30, this season, with 15 different River Hawk goal scorers.

Using those puzzle pieces to their advantage, the River Hawks proved to be a tough competitor day in and day out, as all but one of the team's losses during the regular season came against nationally ranked opponents. In those six games, four were decided by just one goal and two went to overtime.

The River Hawks made their fourth America East postseason appearance when they headed to top-seeded Maine to take on No. 6 New Hampshire in the quarterfinals. Despite forcing overtime with a last-minute goal in regulation by senior Berbel Rozema (Rotterdam, Netherlands), the No. 3 seeded River Hawks faced a 2-1 setback in the shootout.

Graduate student Jenna Berger (Waterloo, Ontario) paced the offense with a career-high nine goals and 24 total points in 2022. Rozema added eight goals and 19 points, while junior Alissia de Vries (The Hague, Netherlands) finished with a personal-best eight assists and 12 points.

Six members of the team earned America East All-Conference honors for their efforts following the history-making season. Berger was named to the America East All-Conference First Team, while de Vries and Gans were selected for Second Team honors. Leeper and Vischer were tabbed to the America East All-Rookie Team, as well. Junior Eleonore Boekhorst (Bilthoven, Netherlands) rounded out the honorees, joining de Vries on the league's All-Academic Team.

Berger and de Vries also received 2022 NFHCA Division I All-Northeast Region accolades. Berger garnered an All-Region First Team nod after being tabbed to the Second Team in 2021, becoming the River Hawks’ first Division I First Team selection, as well as the program’s only two-time All-Region recipient at the DI level. De Vries also earned a spot on the All-Region Second Team this year.