LOWELL, Mass. – Graduate student Hannah Keefe (Westford, Mass.) scored the game-winner with less than four minutes left in regulation to lift the UMass Lowell field hockey team (2-2) to a 2-1 victory against Wagner (2-1) on Monday afternoon.
 
Following a pair of third quarter goals, the teams were deadlocked at 1-1 for 15 minutes of game action until senior Berbel Rozema (Rotterdam, Netherlands) carried the ball into the circle and sent a centering pass to Keefe for the one-timer on cage.
 
"I thought we had some great opportunities in the first half that we created for ourselves, but we just didn't finish on those," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "I liked how we rebounded at halftime and came back and put that first goal in. Wagner is a great opponent. They play a good, structured game, and really made us earn this win."
 
Rozema finished the day with a game-high three points on one goal and one assist, while junior Mirthe Gans (Tiel, Netherlands) added an assist, as well. Junior goalkeeper Eleonore Boekhorst (Bilthoven, Netherlands) made three stops in the win. As a team, the River Hawks took a 10-4 edge in shots on goal.
 
The River Hawks controlled the momentum right from the start, firing the game's first four shots, all on target, to test the Seahawks' Daisy Ruhle early.  
 
The visitors would force four corners in the first 15 minutes, but the UMass Lowell defense was solid. In the 14^th minute, Boekhorst batted a hard-shot ball out of the air to keep it scoreless.
 
The River Hawks maintained the pressure in the second, outshooting Wagner, 3-1. The home side's best chance of the period came on a breakaway off the stick of senior Kate Miller (Cherry Hill, N.J.), but it was kicked away by Ruhle in the 19^th minute.
 
The home team opened the scoring in the first minute of the second half, taking advantage of a corner opportunity, as Gans dished a short pass to Rozema, who rang the back of the cage with a laser from the top of the circle.
 
Later in the third, UMass Lowell threatened to extend the margin with four corners in a row, but the Seahawks were able to extinguish the opportunities and score on the other end of the field. In the 42^nd minute, the Wagner midfield threaded a pass to Julia Pastorino, who dribbled into the circle and past the last three River Hawk defenders to knot the score at 1-1.
 
The squads traded possession in the fourth quarter, going shot-for-shot, ahead of Keefe' goal to seal the 2-1 victory.
 
The River Hawks remain at home to host Boston University under the lights at Wicked Blue Field on Friday, September 9. That contest is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.