LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore Madison Leeper (East Amherst, N.Y.) netted what would be the game-winner in the 44^th minute to help lift the No. 20 UMass Lowell field hockey team (11-3, 4-1 AE) to a hard-fought, 3-2 victory against No. 19 UAlbany (9-3, 5-0 AE) on Friday at Wicked Blue Field.
 
"There is a reason why Albany is in the top 20," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "They are one of the best teams in the conference and I think we play a similar style of hockey, so that's why it was a one-goal game. It was a great game and I'm super impressed with our resilience and character, and the outcome."
 
With the win, the River Hawks close out a six-game homestand with a 5-1 record and improve to 9-1 at home this year. The victory also snapped a seven-game streak for the Great Danes in the series between the two teams.
 
Graduate student Berbel Rozema (Rotterdam, Netherlands) and senior Sage Valente (Watertown, Conn.) each also tallied a goal in the decision, while senior Mirthe Gans (Tiel, Netherlands) and freshman Karli Penrod (Seaford, Del.) recorded one assist apiece. Senior goalkeeper Christina Calandra (Manchester, Mass.) and freshman Marie Oliemans (Driebergen, Netherlands) split time in the cage, combining for four saves.
 
The teams traded possession right from the start with Albany taking just a slight, 4-3 edge in corners in the first quarter. However, it was the home team that was able to break open the scoring in the 14^th minute, as freshman Florine Gerrits (Amstelveen, Netherlands) worked the ball into the circle and sent it into and over the boot of the opposing keeper for a waiting Valente to grab and finish off.
 
Albany tallied the equalizer in the 25^th minute, when Floor de Ruiter sent a centering pass over to Isabella Del Vecchio for the tap in. The River Hawks would retaliated with the go-ahead goal less than four minutes later on a direct corner by Rozema with assists from Gans and Penrod.
 
The visitors would not go quietly, though, once again knotting the score, this time with less than one second on the clock in the second. On that play, Lauren Willis corralled a long pass and knocked it over to Jannelle Volk, who dribbled the rest of the in and fired a slapshot hard into the back of the cage to force a 2-2 stalemate at the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, the teams went back and forth for the majority of the third quarter, trading one corner apiece. The River Hawks worked the ball into their offensive end late in the period and were able to pull in front once more when Leeper put a one-timer on a bouncing rebound to make it 3-2 in the 44^th minute.
 
The Great Danes pressured for the entire fourth quarter, taking a 3-1 shot advantage and forcing three corners. The River Hawks remained steadfast with the help of a pair of great stops from Oliemans to extinguish the corner opportunities. The visitors made a last-ditch effort by pulling their keeper for an extra attacker in the final four minutes, but UMass Lowell defended its home turf and hung on for the 3-2 victory.
 
The River Hawks head to Bryant next for an America East matchup on Friday, October 20 at 3 p.m.