LOWELL, Mass. – Coming off consecutive wins, the UMass Lowell field hockey team (6-5) is back in action to close out its homestand this Friday, October 11 when America East Conference foe Maine visits Wicked Blue Field for a 3 p.m. start.
 
RIVER HAWK REWIND
The River Hawks earned back-to-back victories for the first time this season, first defeating Bryant, 4-0, on Oct. 4 before topping LIU, 3-1, on Oct. 6. The team's seven goals on the week came by way of six different goal scorers, led by junior Madison Leeper (East Amherst, N.Y.), who netted two. Graduate student Christina Calandra (Manchester, Mass.) picked up both wins in the cage, while sophomore Marie Oliemans (Driebergen, Netherlands) stopped four shots.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 11 games, Madison Leeper paces the offense with nine goals and 18 points. Sophomore Karli Penrod (Seaford, Del.) and freshman Karlijn Kerkhof (Rotterdam, Netherlands) follow closely with 13 points apiece. Kerkhof is tied with graduate student Mirthe Gans (Tiel, Netherlands) for the team lead with five assists each. In the cage, Christina Calandra boasts four wins. Marie Oliemans totals 48 saves and an .873 save percentage.
 
A WIN WOULD
A win on Friday would give the River Hawks' their second ever win against the Black Bears after winning last year's matchup, 4-0.
 
GOING STREAKING
Madison Leeper put together a five-game scoring streak, which started on Sept. 13 vs. Stonehill and ran through Sept. 29 at Northeastern.
 
ONE FOR THE BOOKS
The River Hawks' 1-0 win against Wake Forest on Sept. 22 marked the first win for the program against an ACC opponent.
 
WICKED TOUGH AT WICKED BLUE
The River Hawks have allowed just a single goal at home in 2024, earning shutout wins in their first four home games before conceding one goal to LIU on Oct. 6. Overall, the team is 5-0 at home so far.
 
BEST OF THE BEST
The River Hawks' goalkeeping unit of Christina Calandra and Marie Oliemans is proving to be one of the best in the nation. UMass Lowell is currently ranked 12th nationally for shutouts per game (0.36).
 
INSTANT IMPACT
Karlijn Kerkhof is making a name for herself immediately in her rookie season, tallying a goal in each of the River Hawks' first three contests. She now has points in six of the team's 11 games.
 
CRACKING THE RANKINGS
The River Hawks were officially nationally ranked for the second consecutive year, breaking in at No. 20 in the Week 1 NFHCA Division I National Coaches' Poll. The team first cracked the national rankings in the 2023 Week 4 Poll at No. 18 and spent the remainder of the regular season (6 weeks) ranked.
 
STARTING STRONG
The decision against Merrimack marked the River Hawks' eighth consecutive win in a home opener at Wicked Blue.
 
AMERICA EAST AWARDS
Karlijn Kerkhof garnered the first America East Rookie of the Week nod of the new season thanks to five points in her first two games. Marie Oliemans then earned Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 24 with eight saves in the win against Wake Forest.
 
STIFF COMPETITION
Four of the River Hawks' 2024 opponents were listed in the NFHCA Division I preseason national rankings, including Duke, who had checked in at No. 5. Also on the list were Rutgers, Wake Forest and UAlbany. Last year, the River Hawks defeated two nationally ranked opponents. Since 2021, the team has challenged 11 nationally ranked opponents with eight of the nine setbacks being decided by two goals or less.
 
OF NOTE
Marie Oliemans recorded a career-high 15 saves at Massachusetts (9.15) … Karli Penrod tallied her first two-goal game at Massachusetts (9.15) … Madison Leeper matched a career high with two goals against Stonehill (9.13) … Karlijn Kerkhof logged her first career points in her collegiate debut against Merrimack (8.30).