LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore Isabelle Halters (Noordwijk, Netherlands) led a second-half scoring outburst with two goals to lift the UMass Lowell field hockey team to a 5-1 victory against LIU in the 2023 season opener.
 
"I was really happy overall with our full game," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "I would say we had a couple little hiccups, but our pressing from our forwards to create goal-scoring opportunities, and our defense being under some pressure and staying composed was just really nice to see for 60 minutes."
 
All five of the River Hawk goals came in the second half. In addition to Halters, sophomore Madison Leeper (East Amherst, N.Y.) added one goal and one assist for three points, while junior Sydney Grim (Reading, Pa.) and sophomore Meike Vischer (The Hague, Netherlands) each added one goal apiece. On the opposite end of the field, senior Christina Calandra (Manchester, Mass.) and freshman Marie Oliemans (Driebergen, Netherlands) split time in the cage, as Calandra made two stops in a first-half shutout and Oliemans finished the outing to secure the decision.
 
The River Hawks spent the first half of the new season knocking on the door. The home team outshot their opponents, 8-2, through the first 15 minutes and took a 4-1 advantage on corners. The team's best chance of the first quarter came on a corner in the 11^th minute that resulted in three consecutive shots, including two on target by senior Alissia de Vries (The Hague, Netherlands) and Halters.
 
The home side had another solid opportunity in the 23^rd minute, once again on a corner. This time, Halters grabbed a loose, bouncing ball and batted it hard towards the cage, but it sailed just wide.
 
The River Hawks continued their attack after the break and finally broke open the scoring in the 33^rd minute, as junior Ava Clarke (Hopkinton, Mass.) sent a ball into traffic that was redirected through the crowd by Leeper and over to Grim for the final touch on her first career goal and the team's first of the season.
 
Just minutes later on a set piece, Halters fired hard from the wing off an insert from senior Sage Valente (Watertown, Conn.) and straight into the back of the cage, extending the lead to 2-0. However, the Sharks were able to cut the difference in half on a corner opportunity of their own in the final minute of the third quarter with a goal by Saarah Olton.
 
The River Hawks quickly pulled away in the fourth and final quarter, though, notching three more goals in an eight-minute span. Vischer first finished a ball from senior Aurise Tattrie (Watertown, Mass.) into the lower corner in the 49^th minute before Leeper pushed her way through the defense for a score of her own less than two minutes later. Halters added the exclamation point on the day with another blistering slap shot from the wing on a corner play to seal the 5-1 outcome.
 
The River Hawks now head to Pennsylvania to finish off the weekend with a 1 p.m. tilt at St. Jospeh's on Sunday, August 27.