LOWELL, Mass. – With just two games left to the America East regular season and a berth into the conference tournament on the line, the UMass Lowell field hockey team will make a short trip north for a Friday afternoon clash at New Hampshire on October 25. The matchup is set to begin at 2 p.m.
 
RIVER HAWK REWIND
UMass Lowell split a pair of decisions last week, first falling, 3-1, at league foe Vermont on Oct. 18 before defeating Dartmouth, 5-1, on Oct. 20. Graduate student Alissia de Vries (The Hague, Netherlands) tallied a team-best four points on the week with one goal and two assists. In the Senior Day contest against Dartmouth, seven different River Hawks registered points, including de Vries, who totaled three. Graduate student Lisa Hagel (Driehuis, Netherlands) and senior Jillian Loebs (Acton, Mass.) each tallied their first career goals against the Big Green. In the cage, graduate student Christina Calandra (Manchester, Mass.) and sophomore Marie Oliemans (Driebergen, Netherlands) combined for 13 saves.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Through 14 games, Madison Leeper paces the offense with 11 goals and 22 points. Sophomore Karli Penrod (Seaford, Del.) follows with 15 points. Graduate student Mirthe Gans (Tiel, Netherlands) is first on the team with seven assists. In the cage, Christina Calandra boasts six wins. Marie Oliemans totals 58 saves and an .853 save percentage.
 
A WIN WOULD
A win on Friday would give the River Hawks' their first win in three meetings against the Wildcats, as UNH leads the all-time series, 10-6. The River Hawks last win against New Hampshire came in Durham on Sept. 25, 2022 in 5-1 fashion. A win on Friday would also clinch a spot in the America East Championship for UMass Lowell.
 
CLOSING IN ON A MILESTONE
Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc is closing in on major career milestone. She currently sits just five wins away from 300. Her 300^th career win would also mark her 100^th Division I victory. LeBlanc is the winningest multi-year coach in program history.
 
WICKED TOUGH AT WICKED BLUE
The River Hawks have allowed just three goals at home in 2024, earning shutout wins in their first four home. Overall, the team is an undefeated, 7-0 at home so far, just one game shy of matching the best home start in DI program history (8-0, 2023).
 
GOING STREAKING
The River Hawks put together a three-game win streak from Oct. 4-11, 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.
 
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 14th nationally for save percentage (.769) and 23rd for shutouts per game (0.29).
 
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 14 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
Lisa Hagel and Jillian Loebs tallied their first career goals against Dartmouth (10.20) … 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).