LOWELL, Mass. – Propelled by two goals from sophomore Meike Vischer, the UMass Lowell field hockey team (5-2) upset No. 18 Massachusetts (5-3) in a hard-fought, 2-1 victory at Wicked Blue Field on Sunday afternoon.
 
"I couldn't be happier," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "We knew coming into the game it was going to be a battle. It's two great programs, fighting for rights to the state, so the last few years have been right down to the wire. It wasn't any different this year. We made it interesting in the end, but overall, I felt our consistency, discipline and high-pressure really won that game for us."
 
With the decision, the River Hawks not only defeated the Minutewomen for the first time at the Division I level, but were also able to hoist the Kennedy Cup field hockey trophy for the first time ever. The Kennedy Cup is named after John Kennedy, an alum and longtime supporter of both UMass Lowell and UMass Amherst.
 
The victory, which keeps the River Hawks undefeated at home in 2023 (4-0), also marked just the second win over a DI nationally-ranked opponent after beating then No. 18 UAlbany back in 2017.
 
Vischer set a new personal-best with two goals in the contest. Sophomore Isabelle Halters (Noordwijk, Netherlands) picked up an assist, as well. In the cage, freshman keeper Marie Oliemans (Driebergen, Netherlands) registered two saves to improve to 4-0 on the year.
 
The River Hawks quickly earned a corner in the opening minutes of the outing and senior Alissia de Vries (The Hague, Netherlands) stepped up for the shot from the top of the circle, but her attempt was blocked. The home team kept the pressure on, though, capitalizing on a takeaway by sophomore Madison Leeper (East Amherst, N.Y.) to break open the scoring in the 11^th minute. On that play, the team worked the ball into the circle where Halters was able to push it through traffic over to Vischer, who fired high into the back of the cage.
 
However, the visitors responded less than two minutes later, as Hannah de Gast rushed towards the post to get a tip on a ball from Emilie Keij during a corner chance.
 
The River Hawks looked to pull back in front in the second quarter, outshooting their opponents, 4-1, with three corners, but the Minutewomen defense held steady to send the teams into the break deadlocked at 1-1.
 
Coming out of halftime, the home team pushed right back in its offensive zone to tally the go-ahead goal just 18 seconds into play when Vischer collected a loose ball and dribbled towards the endline before sending a shot across the front of the cage and into the far corner.
 
In the 43^rd minute, the team had a chance to add an insurance goal on a good tip from post by Leeper, but the ball rolled just wide.
 
Oliemans fended off a Minutewomen attack with two strong kick saves early in the final period. The visitors battled through the waning minutes with three consecutive corner attempts with less than three minutes on the clock and came close to forcing another stalemate, but the goal was called off for hitting a foot, allowing the River Hawks to hold on for the thrilling, 2-1 outcome.
 
Next up, the River Hawks open America East Conference play on the road at Maine on Friday, September 22 at 3 p.m.