LOWELL, Mass. – Junior
Florine Gerrits (Amstelveen, Netherlands) and senior
Madison Leeper (East Amherst, N.Y.) each logged one goal to help lift the UMass Lowell field hockey team (7-5, 2-0 AE) to a 2-1 victory against Vermont (6-6, 1-1 AE) on Friday afternoon.
"I thought we stuck to our game plan for 55 minutes," said Head Coach
Shannon LeBlanc. "For the first five minutes, we were touch and go, but I love how we responded, dialed back in, and really played a complete game. I've been waiting for this for the last few weeks to really put our best foot forward and I really thought we brought our best game today after the first five."
With the decision, the River Hawks start America East Conference play with a 2-0 record for the second time in three years.
In addition to Gerrits and Leeper, sophomore
Karlijn Kerkhof (Rotterdam, Netherlands) also added a point in the contest with an assist. In the cage, freshman goalkeeper
Veerle Mous (Bred, Netherlands) totaled four saves en route to the win.
The Catamounts contained play in their offensive end in the early minutes of the contest, tallying the first three shots and putting a ball high into the cage that was called off following a video review. In the sixth minute, junior
Karli Penrod (Seaford, Del.) lifted a shot on target, but it bounced off the pads of the opposing keeper. The River Hawks' defense fended off five more UVM shots through the remainder of the first quarter with the help of a pair of saves from Mous, maintaining the 0-0 stalemate.
The River Hawks took control of the momentum to start the second quarter, registering three corners in the first three minutes. The team was able to beautifully execute the third set piece to jump in front, 1-0, as Gerrits inserted to Kerkhof, who passed back to Gerrits for the finish in the 18
th minute. The home team then kept the pressure on throughout the rest of the half with chances on goal from Leeper and Kerkhof, although the one-goal difference remained at the break.
The defense ruled the third quarter, as Vermont took a slight, 3-1 edge on shots. The River Hawks earned the only corner of the period with Kerkhof dangling towards the cage, but her attempt was turned away by the Catamount keeper.
Mous made a kick save in the opening minutes of the fourth before Clarke tested the opposing goalkeeper on the other end in the 49
th minute. Both sides continued to battle, but with just over five minutes left on the clock, the River Hawks capitalized on another corner. This time, sophomore
Alice Van Hemelen (Tervuren, Belgium) fired an initial shot that was bounced off the goalie and back out to Leeper, who stopped it, set and slapped a put-back chance hard into the far corner to extend the lead to 2-0.
The second UMass Lowell goal proved to be the difference, as Vermont's Consu De Castro was able to redirect a ball from Alicia Battistelli on cage in the 58
th minute, cutting into the margin before the home team was able to run out the clock to secure the 2-1 victory.
The River Hawks are off for the rest of the week and will return to action at home on Friday, October 17 when they host New Hampshire in an America East clash beginning at 6 p.m.
