WORCESTER, Mass. – Sophomore Megan Brockbank (Bayport, N.Y.) tallied two goals and an assist to lead the offense, but the UMass Lowell River Hawks (0-2, 0-0 AE) fell to the Holy Cross Crusaders (1-1, 0-0 Patriot League), 13-6, on Friday night at Kuzniewski Field.

"At the end of the day, we need to start the game better," stated head coach Lisa Miller. "We need to play the way we did in the second half. We came alive in the second half. We need to start faster, and that's on us as a coaching staff."
 
Alongside Brockbank, junior Molly Shaw (Marshfield, Mass.) and redshirt freshman Emily Stratton (Camillus, N.Y.) each tallied a goal, while junior Izzy Liquori (Agawam, Mass.) and sophomore Kaitlin Tobin (Southold, N.Y.) each recorded their first goals of the season.
 
The game opened as a defensive battle, with both teams forcing multiple turnovers, until Holy Cross broke the deadlock, scoring the first goal of the game with 9:34 remaining in the first. The Crusaders quickly followed that up with three more goals of their own, giving them a 4-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
 
Less than a minute into the second quarter, the River Hawks cut the lead to three when Tobin launched a shot behind the goalkeeper, off the pass from Brockbank.
 
 The Crusaders would go on to add to their lead, tallying seven goals over the next eleven minutes of play. The scoring run was ended with roughly a minute to play in the half as Stratton and Liquori scored back-to-back goals, cutting the Crusaders lead to 11-3 heading into the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, the River Hawks found the defensive presence they had at the start the game, forcing four turnovers and limiting the Crusaders to two shots over 13 minutes of play. Holy Cross was finally able to get past the defense when they added another goal with a minute left in the third quarter.
 
After surrendering a goal early in the fourth quarter, the River Hawks started to find their footing offensively, as Brockbank tallied two goals followed by a goal from Shaw to cut the lead late in the game.
 
Graduate student Alex Salim (East Islip, N.Y.) recorded four saves in net, splitting time with sophomore Jillian Schumacher (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) who tallied six saves.
 
Next up, the River Hawks will head home to take on Marist on Sunday, February 20 at 1 p.m.