LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell field hockey team (2-1) dominated in a 9-0 victory against Merrimack (0-2) under the lights at Wicked Blue Field on Friday evening.
 
The win was a total team effort, as nine different River Hawks tallied points and the defense combined for a shutout. Freshman Christina Wagner (Cicero, N.Y.) helped lead the way with her first career goal and assist in the outing. Sophomore Madison Leeper (East Amherst, N.Y.), junior Maxine van Havere (Wilrijk, Belgium) and senior Alissia de Vries (The Hague, Netherlands) each chipped in with three points of their own. Freshmen Karli Penrod (Seaford, Del.) and Florine Gerrits (Amstelveen, Netherlands) both registered the first goals of their careers, as well, while senior Mirthe Gans (Tiel, Netherlands), and sophomores Isabelle Halters (Nordwijk, Netherlands) and Meike Vischer (The Hague, Netherlands) rounded out the scoring.
 
In the cage, senior Christina Calandra (Manchester, Mass.) and freshmen Marie Oliemans (Driebergen, Netherlands) combined for the shutout, as the River Hawks held the Warriors to just one corner and did not allow a shot all night.
 
UMass Lowell attacked right from the starting whistle and kept play in their offensive end, registering some solid chances in the first 15 minutes. However, the scoring outburst really started in the second quarter, when the home team exploded for five goals. Leeper sent a pass over to de Vries for the finish on a corner in the 18^th minute to get the home team on the board.
 
The River Hawks' first three goals all came in a span of just over two minutes. Penrod would make it 2-0 when she ripped a reverse chip that sped through the defense and Vischer added one of her own with a perfectly timed tip from the stroke spot.
 
Leeper and van Havere each knocked in unassisted goals of their own before the break to put their squad up, 5-0.
 
Coming out of halftime, Wagner got a deflection on a pass from outside the circle by van Havere in the 35^th minute. Then in the 39^th minute, Gerrits dribbled around the defense and fired into the corner unassisted for her first career tally to make it 7-0.
 
The River Hawks added two final goals in the fourth quarter when Gans sent home a reverse chip and Halters slotted a pass from Wagner into the bottom corner.
 
UMass Lowell heads out on the road next week for a pair of games in Iowa beginning on Saturday, Sept. 9 vs. Central Michigan.