Coming off of its most successful season at the Division I level, the UMass Lowell field hockey team is back at Wicked Blue Field and looking to continue to push the program forward after an energizing preseason.

The new campaign kicks off at home on Friday, August 30 when the River Hawks are set to square off against local foe Merrimack in a 12 p.m. tilt before heading out for a three-game road swing that begins at No. 5 Duke on Sunday, September 1 at 12 p.m.

“Preseason has been amazing," explained Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "The seniors and our fifth years really brought back the energy that we ended the season with last year, and our newcomers and our sophomores have just been adding to this energy in a really positive way, so we feel like the entire team is on the same wavelength right now.”

The team soared to new heights in 2023, setting multiple Division I program records, including total wins with a 14-4 overall mark and conference wins with a 7-1 finish.  The squad not only claimed its first ever Kennedy Cup, but also entered the national rankings for the first time in Division I program history just a week later, checking in at No. 18 in the country. The River Hawks stayed in the top 20 for the remainder of the regular season, reaching as high as No. 17. The team closed out the regular season with four straight conference wins to capture its first America East regular-season championship and No. 1 seed for the postseason tournament. 

However, Coach LeBlanc and the team are hungry for more and are very clear on the ultimate goal for this season.

“We’re going to get right to the point, we want to win a conference championship. The regular-season championship was great last year, but the tournament championship is the one honor that this program has yet to achieve in our Division I existence, so right off the bat it is our goal to be tournament champions of America East.”

The team took the first steps to success by coming into preseason as fit and focused as ever, and will need to continue to carry that preparation and execution throughout the year.

“We are going to have to play fantastic defense and score a lot of goals,” explained LeBlanc. “We know that the level of competition within our conference if really high, so for us, it is going to be about looking at the season in thirds. We have to learn a lot about ourselves in the first third of the season. During the middle third where we start picking up conference play, we need to make sure we take care of business early on. Then we have to really hone in on what we’re good at towards the end of the season and enhance those areas in order to get us to where we want to be.”

LeBlanc has put together possibly her most experienced squad yet at the DI level that is filled with veteran leaders, including nine team members that are seniors or above.

“Fortunately for us, we have a tremendous amount of leadership and depth in that area this year. They have an incredible amount of experience and they are all after the same goal of winning that conference championship. We’re really thankful and fortunate to have a large group of people leading in the right way, and we think that is going to lead to a very successful season." 

The River Hawks’ roster also features a strong and dedicated true senior class made up of Sydney Grim (Reading, Pa.), Cate Kleeman (Gibssboro, N.J.), Jillian Loebs (Acton, Mass.) and Maxine Van Havere (Wilrijk, Belgium). 

“Our true senior class has been nothing short of amazing,” LeBlanc continued. "They lead by example every day. Their work rate is so high that it’s automatic for everybody to follow them. They have a great camaraderie and it’s been awesome to watch them find themselves as individuals, and grow as players and leaders.”

UMass Lowell’s strength will begin in the cage once again this year with the return of the goalkeeping duo of graduate student Christina Calandra (Manchester, Mass.) and sophomore Marie Oliemans (Driebergen, Netherlands). As a unit, the keepers totaled six shutouts and 70 saves, while holding the opposition to an America East best 1.26 goals per game.

“Our goalkeeping in some of the best in the country," added LeBlanc. “Christina and Marie each bring a different flavor in the goal and it was amazing to watch the season that they had last year. They came back to preseason with that same level of energy and healthy competition. They both want each other to thrive and be the best because they know if they’re the best, then we’re the best as a team, so that’s been really awesome to watch and a really unique situation to be in when you have two of the best goalkeepers. The team loves it because it makes us better every day at practice. Scoring goals at practice is hard, and that is what truly is going to level us up in the games.” 

On the opposite end of the field, junior Madison Leeper (East Amherst, N.Y.) returns to the lineup as the River Hawks' top scorer after turning in a 31-point campaign in 2023 that garnered All-Conference First Team and All-Region honors. She also joins de Vries on the 2024 America East Preseason All-Conference Team. 

Sophomore Karli Penrod (Seaford, Del.) with also be looking to improve on her standout rookie season that included 15 total points and a team-best seven assists.

Four of the River Hawks' opponents for the upcoming season have earned a spot in the Preseason NFHCA Coaches' Poll, with Duke checking in at No. 5, followed by No. 9 Rutgers, No. 18 Wake Forest and No. 20 UAlbany. 

“We always just want to make sure we are playing Lowell hockey," said LeBlanc. "We have a specific way that we like to play with a specific structure and specific talent, but more importantly, it’s sort of the character that our team brings. I do feel like we are always going to be prepared to play with the best in the country because that’s the mindset that we recruit on. We want players to come in and know that you are capable of beating anyone on any given day.”