DURHAM, N.C. – The UMass Lowell field hockey (1-1) goalkeeping unit combined for eight total saves in a hard-fought, 3-0 setback for the River Hawks at No. 5 Duke (2-0) on Sunday afternoon.
 
The visitors battled all the way to the final whistle against the Power Five opponent, picking up a late goal from freshman Karlijn Kerkhof (Rotterdam, Netherlands), giving her a team-best five points so far this season. Graduate student Mirthe Gans (Tiel, Netherlands) and sophomore Florine Gerrits (Amstelveen, Netherlands) each added one assist in the contest.
 
"Our performance was solid, but not our best, said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "We definitely have high expectations of our play and I don't think as a team we met our expectations. Duke tested us in all areas and there is no doubt that we will get better from this game moving forward."
 
Graduate goalkeeper Christina Calandra (Manchester, Mass.) recorded four saves in the cage in the first half, while sophomore Marie Oliemans (Driebergen, Netherlands) added four stops of her own in the second half.
 
The Blue Devils tested Calandra in the first two minutes, but the veteran goalkeeper turned away the early opportunity. However, the home team was able to convert on its first penalty corner of the day thanks to a direct strike by Alaina McVeigh at the 11-minute mark.
 
Duke registered one more corner attempt in the first quarter, but senior Cate Kleeman (Gibbsboro, N.J.) came rushing out of the cage and made a great block to keep the margin at just one.
 
The River Hawks were quick to garner their first corner chance in the second quarter, although a reverse-stick chip from graduate student Lisa Hagel (Driehuis, Netherlands) would sail just high.
 
Calandra continued to impress in the cage in the first half, making a great save in the 19^th minute by knocking the ball off course with her right blocker before making a pair of diving stops on a corner just a minute later.
 
UMass Lowell then registered back-to-back shots late in the second quarter, including a shot on target by Kerkhof that was batted away, but Duke was able to stretch the difference to 2-0 in the 26^th minute when Kira Curland received the ball near the middle of the circle before dribbling to her right to get behind Calandra.
 
Coming out of halftime, the River Hawk defense continued to be tested with Oliemans making four great saves in her first six minutes of action, including a blocker stop in the 35^th minute.
 
Oliemans and the River Hawks continued to withstand the pressure from the home side throughout the remainder of the third quarter and started the fourth with another stop until Duke's Josephine Palde was able stretch the difference to 3-0, as she dribbled right and shot across into the lower left corner.
 
The River Hawks continued to make a push for their offensive end down the stretch, allowing Kerkhof to fire home a direct corner goal in the 59^th minute. Gans threatened to add another score in the final seconds, but a great save sealed the 3-1 outcome.
 
The River Hawks now continue their road swing at Brown of the Ivy League on Friday, September 6 at 2 p.m.