DURHAM, N.H. – The UMass Lowell field hockey team (8-7, 2-3 AE) fell, 4-0, at America East Conference foe New Hampshire (7-8, 3-1 AE) on Friday afternoon.

"This was a tough conference loss against a strong UNH team," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "We are looking forward to next weekend."
 
The River Hawks took a 7-6 advantage on corners in the outing, while the Wildcats held a slight edge on shots, 17-14. Freshman Karlijn Kerkhof (Rotterdam, Netherlands) paced the visitors with four shots on the day, while junior Madison Leeper (East Amherst, N.Y.) and graduate student Mirthe Gans (Tiel, Netherlands) each added three. In the cage, graduate student Christina Calandra (Manchester, Mass.) and sophomore Marie Oliemans (Driebergen, Netherlands) finished with four saves apiece.
 
The Wildcats were quick to get on the board, working to intercept a pass at the River Hawks' 25-yard line before getting the ball to the Kathelijne Knuttel for the first goal of the game in just the fourth minute.
 
The River Hawks looked to answer and earned the next three shots of the contest, including back-to-back attempts on target by Leeper and Gans, but UNH's Abby Johnson made the diving stops to keep the 1-0 margin intact.
 
However, the home team struck again in the 10^th minute, as Addison Macneil got the ball off the restart and sent a pass to the center of the circle for a one-timer from Tasmin Cookman, making it 2-0.
 
In the 19^th minute, Leeper put another good attempt on target, but it was once again saved. Four minutes later, the Wildcats' Carly Warms finished a loose ball to extend the difference to 3-0 heading into the break.
 
Coming out of halftime, UMass Lowell went on the offensive and took a 6-4 shot advantage in the third, along with a 4-3 edge on corners. Kerkhof and senior Maxine Van Havere (Wiljrik, Belgium) both fired hard shots into the goalkeepers' pads during the period, and graduate student Alissia de Vries (The Hague, Netherlands) was stopped on a second-chance attempt on another set piece.
 
Nicole Poulakis converted on a penalty stroke in the 46^th minute to create the final, 4-0 buffer for the home team.
 
The River Hawks are back in action next Friday, November 1, when they welcome Rutgers to Wicked Blue Field at 12 p.m.