LOWELL, Mass. – Freshman Karli Penrod (Seaford, Del.) registered one goal and one assist for three points, as the UMass Lowell field hockey team (4-2) defeated in-state opponent Northeastern (4-2) on Friday at Wicked Blue Field.
 
"We are really happy with our play at home," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "We own this field and I just feel like we do play our best hockey on it, no matter who the opponent is. We feel like we had a great 45 minutes today. Maybe we didn't have our best 15 minutes in the third quarter, but we stayed focused and disciplined long enough to hold, so I give the team a lot of credit."
 
With the win, the River Hawks remain undefeated at home so far in 2023 (3-0). The decision also marked the team's third shutout of the season.
 
Senior Alissia de Vries (The Hague, Netherlands) and junior Ava Clarke (Hopkinton, Mass.) both tallied a goal of their own in the contest. Freshman goalkeeper Marie Oliemans (Driebergen, Netherlands) earned her first start in the outing, totaling three saves in her first career, complete-game shutout. As a team, UMass Lowell took an 18-7 advantage on shots, in addition to a 6-4 edge on corners.
 
The River Hawks were quick to pressure in their offensive end to start the game and were able to jump out to a 1-0 lead in just the sixth minute when Penrod dribbled into the circle uncontested and fired a reverse chip high into the net.
 
Possession was much more even in the second quarter with Oliemans making her first saves of the contest in the 21^st minute. However, the River Hawks were able to extend the lead in the 27^th, as freshman Isabelle Halters (Noordwijk, Netherlands) tracked down a ball in the corner and sent a centering pass into the circle for a one-timer on target by Clarke.
 
Oliemans continued to hold strong through the third quarter, turning away a solid Husky attempt on a corner in the 38^th minute.
 
The home team then added another insurance goal in the fourth on a direct corner, as Penrod inserted the ball to senior Mirthe Gans (Tiel, Netherlands) for the stick stop to set up the sweep from the top of the circle by de Vries.
 
The River Hawks are back on their home turf on Sunday, September 17 when they square off against No. 18 Massachusetts in the 2023 Kennedy Cup Challenge at 2 p.m.