LOWELL, Mass. – On the heels of the program's first America East regular-season title, the No. 1 seeded UMass Lowell field hockey team (14-3) has earned the right to host the 2023 America East Championship and will square off against No. 4 California (10-7) in a semifinal matchup on November 3 at 12 p.m. 
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE
The 2023 America East Championship is being hosted by UMass Lowell at Wicked Blue from November 2-5. All games will be streamed live in the United States on ESPN+ and internationally on AmericaEast.tv. The postseason tournament is a ticketed event with a $10 entrance fee for adults, $6 for children and $2 for America East students.

RIVER HAWK REWIND
The River Hawks captured two, America East victories this past weekend to end conference play with a 7-1 conference record and earn a share of the regular-season championship along with UAlbany. The team started the weekend with a 5-1 win against UC Davis on Oct. 27. Sophomore Meike Vischer (The Hague, Netherlands) and junior Ava Clarke (Hopkinton, Mass.) notched two goals apiece in that decision. The squad then shut out Stanford, 3-0, on Oct. 29. Senior goalkeeper Christina Calandra (Manchester, Mass.) played all 60 minutes in the cage to record her first solo clean sheet of the season.

LEADING THE FLOCK
At the end of the regular season, Madison Leeper leads the River Hawk offense with a career-high 13 goals and 29 points. Freshman Karli Penrod (Seaford, Del.) adds a team-best with seven assists. In the cage, senior Christina Calandra has recorded 34 saves for a goals-against average of 1.68, while freshman Marie Oliemans (Driebergen, Netherlands) owns a 0.53 goals-against average and an .879 save percentage.
 
AMERICA EAST TOURNAMENT HISTORY
The River Hawks are making their second straight America East Championship appearance and fifth overall, and will be looking for their first postseason win at the Division I level. Prior to this year, the team's highest seeding for the tournament was No. 3 in 2022.
 
A WIN WOULD
A win against Cal would mark the first DI postseason victory for the River Hawks. It would also give UMass Lowell its first berth into the league's championship game ever. The River Hawks currently own a slight, 3-2 edge in the series against the Golden Bears, after earning a 2-1 win on Oct. 6.
 
FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
The River Hawks have seen unprecedented success during the 2023 season. The team has already set a new Division I program record for total wins (14) and conference wins (7). Other Division I program records set this season include most home wins (11), longest home win streak (8), longest overall win streak (7) and wins against ranked opponents (2).
 
AMERICA EAST AWARDS
For the first time since joining the America East Conference in 2013, the River Hawks were represented among the league's major award winners. Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc and her staff were named the America East Coaching Staff of the Year. Senior back Alissia de Vries (The Hague, Netherlands) also garnered Defensive Player of the Year honors, while freshman goalkeeper Marie Oliemans (Driebergen, Netherlands) was tabbed Rookie of the Year. Additionally, de Vries earned spots on the All-Conference First Team and the All-Academic Team. She was joined on the First Team by Madison Leeper, while senior Mirthe Gans (Tiel, Netherlands) garnered Second Team honors. Oliemans and Karli Penrod (Seaford, Del.) represented UMass Lowell on the All-Rookie Team, and junior Cate Kleeman (Gibbsboro, N.J.) rounded out the honorees, joining de Vries on the All-Academic Team.

IN THE RANKINGS
The UMass Lowell field hockey team closed out the regular season nationally ranked for the sixth week in a row. The River Hawks, who have been as high as No. 17 this year, received 104 votes in the NFHCA week nine coaches' poll (Oct. 31), remaining 18th in the country. The team also remained in the top 20 in NCAA RPI, placing 19th.

NATIONAL NEWS
The River Hawks finished the regular season ranked in the top five in the country in five different statistical categories. The team is currently fourth in the nation for penalty corners per game (8.65), goals per game (3.24) and scoring average (3.23), and fifth in winning percentage (.824) and scoring margin (2.06).  goals per game (3.24), and tenth in points per game (8.59).

GOALS, GOALS, GOALS
The River Hawks have been on fire with their scoring opportunities. The squad has scored 55 goals through the regular season, which ranks second for total goals during the Division I era after a 56-goal finish in 2016. The team's 3.24 goals per game does in fact rank first in program history during the Division I era, though.
 
DEFENDING HOME TURF
The River Hawks put together an eight-game home win streak at Wicked Blue, the longest of the Division I era. The team has continued its stout defense, allowing just nine goals across its 10 home games.
 
FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME
UMass Lowell defeated Maine for the first time in Division I program history on Sept. 22. With that 4-0 victory, the River Hawks became the first America East team to shut out the Black Bears since 2019.
 
STIFF COMPETITION
The River Hawks had a nationally-ranked opponent on their docket for the first three straight weeks of the season, including No. 18 Massachusetts on Sept. 17. UMass Lowell earned the 2-1 upset against the Minutewomen, marking the team's second ever win against a ranked team at the DI level. Their most recent victory against a nationally-ranked opponent came on Oct. 13, where the River Hawks defeated No. 19 UAlbany 3-2. Since 2021, the team has challenged nine nationally ranked opponents, with six of the seven setbacks being decided by two goals or less.
 
RINSE AND REPEAT
A nine-goal performance against Central Michigan on Sept. 9 was actually the team's second consecutive outing decided by that margin. The River Hawks also exploded for nine goals in the win against Merrimack on Sept. 1, tying the record for most goals in a single game for the team at the Division I level. UMass Lowell previously scored nine goals vs. Saint Louis (9.18.2016).
 
SPREADING THE LOVE
The River Hawks have already showed off their depth this year, as seven different players tallied a point in the home opener. The team followed that performance with a total of 11 different goal scorers across back-to-back 9-0 wins vs. Merrimack and Central Michigan. In total, 15 different River Hawks have already tallied a point in 2023.

OF NOTE
Madison Leeper put together a five-game scoring streak from 9.22 to 10.6 … Leeper set a new career high with two goals vs. Brown (9.24) … Marie Oliemans earned her first start and complete-game shutout against Northeastern (9.15) … Ava Clarke (Hopkinton, Mass.) notched the first two goals of her River Hawk career vs. Central Michigan (9.9) … senior Sage Valente (Watertown, Conn.) registered her first career goal vs. Central Michigan (9.9) … freshman Christina Wagner (Cicero, N.Y.) tallied her first career goal and assist against Merrimack (9.1) … Karli Penrod and Florine Gerrits (Amstelveen, Netherlands) both registered the first goals of their careers vs. Merrimack (9.1) … junior Sydney Grim (Reading, Pa.) logged her first career goal against LIU (8.25).