LOWELL, Mass. – After wrapping up a recent homestand with a 3-0 record, the UMass Lowell field hockey team (7-5, 2-1 AE) is getting ready for two more games this week. The River Hawks will first hit the road to visit America East foe Vermont (4-7, 1-2 AE) on Friday, October 18 for a 3 p.m. matchup before welcoming Dartmouth (3-8, 0-4 IVY)  for Senior Day and Alumni Day on Sunday, Oct. 20 at 2 p.m.
 
BAY STATE MARATHON GAME IMPACTS
Just a reminder for those heading to Senior Day and Alumni Day on Sunday against Vermont, the Bay State Marathon will be running through Lowell, and may impact your travel routes. For road closures, please click here.
 
RIVER HAWK REWIND
UMass Lowell defeated Maine, 5-1, in the team's lone game last week to continue its perfect home performance this season. Five different River Hawks scored in the outing, including sophomore Christina Wagner (Cicero, N.Y.), who led the offense with three points. Graduate student goalkeeper Christina Calandra (Manchester, Mass.) and sophomore Marie Oliemans (Driebergen, Netherlands) each made two stops in the cage in the win.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 12 games, Madison Leeper paces the offense with 10 goals and 20 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 five wins. Marie Oliemans totals 50 saves and an .877 save percentage.
 
A WIN WOULD
A win on Friday would give the River Hawks' their fifth consecutive win against Vermont, as they currently lead the conference series, 9-6. It would also extend the team's current win streak to four games. A win on Sunday would give the River Hawks' their second straight win against Dartmouth and give the squad a 4-3 edge in the series.
 
GOING STREAKING
The River Hawks are currently in the midst of a three-game win streak after defeating Bryant, LIU and Maine at home. Individually this season, Madison Leeper put together a five-game scoring streak, which started on Sept. 13 vs. Stonehill and ran through Sept. 29 at Northeastern.
 
WICKED TOUGH AT WICKED BLUE
The River Hawks have allowed just two goals at home in 2024, earning shutout wins in their first four home games before conceding single goals to LIU on Oct. 6 and Maine on Oct. 11. Overall, the team is an undefeated, 6-0 at home so far.
 
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.
 
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 14^th nationally for save percentage (.769) and 15th for shutouts per game (0.33).
 
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 12 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
Gaduate student Aurise Tattrie (Watertown, Mass.) and freshman Alice Van Hemelen (Tervuren, Belgium) each scored their first career goal against Maine (10.11) … 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).