LOWELL, Mass. – A 54^th-minute goal was the difference in a clash between undefeated, America East rivals, as the No. 17 UMass Lowell field hockey team (10-3, 3-1 AE) faced a 1-0 setback against New Hampshire (9-4, 5-0 AE) on Sunday.
 
"I thought we possessed the ball well and had some great opportunities," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "Today was a day that we didn't finish the ones that we did have. We knew it was going to be a defensive battle with both sides having great goalkeeping and it certainly proved to be one."  
 
Senior Alissia de Vries (The Hague, Netherlands) led the way with five shots on Alumni Day, while sophomore Isabelle Halters (Noordwijk, Netherlands) added four. In the cage, senior Christina Calandra (Manchester, Mass.) made a pair of first-half saves, while freshman Marie Oliemans (Driebergen, Netherlands) totaled a season-high seven stops in the second half to move to 5-1 on the year.
 
The teams went an even, 10-10 in shots on goal in the contest, while the River Hawks took an 11-4 advantage on corners.
 
The River Hawks pressured from the start with four corners in the first quarter. Graduate student Berbel Rozema (Rotterdam, Netherlands) tested Wildcat Jemma Woods with a hard slapshot from close range in the sixth minute, but the keeper's kick save kept the game scoreless.
 
It was the visitors' turn to attack in the second, as UNH accounted for the only six shots of the quarter, but as usual, the River Hawk defense was relentless. The first two of the attempts in the quarter got through to Calandra, who skillfully knocked them away, but the remainder of the Wildcat opportunities were cleared out by the UMass Lowell backfield before getting to the cage to send the game into halftime still knotted at 0-0.
 
UNH quickly tested Oliemans to start the third, but the rookie keeper made two stops in the opening minutes to establish her presence. After killing off the second of two early corners, the River Hawks earned a breakaway in the 36^th minute and were looking to open the scoring, but Halters' attempt once again got swallowed by the pads of Woods.
 
The Wildcats made one late push in the waning seconds of the third, but Oliemans and the River Hawk defensive unit held steady.
 
In the fourth, Halters had a breakaway opportunity in the 49^th minute, when she lifted a shot just wide. The forward then had two more solid chances in the 53^rd minute on a corner, going front to backhand, but both were saved.
 
The difference maker came in the 54^th, as Nicole Poulakis finished her own rebound. The River Hawks did not slow down with four shots on target in the final minutes, but Woods kept the home team off the board to steal the 1-0 decision.
 
The River Hawks wrap up their current six-game homestand on Friday, October 13 at 3 p.m. vs. No. 18 UAlbany.