LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell field hockey team (7-5, 2-0 AE) looks to continue its momentum with a pair of home games this week. The squad first squares off against America East foe New Hampshire (6-5, 1-1 AE) on Friday, October 17 at 6 p.m. before taking on No. 4 Harvard (11-0) in non-conference action on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m.
 
RIVER HAWK REWIND
The River Hawks Welcomed Vermont on Oct. 10 and earned a 2-1 league victory. Senior Madison Leeper (East Amherst, N.Y.) and junior Florine Gerrits (Amstelveen, Netherlands) each scored one goal. Freshman Goalkeeper Veerle Mous (Breda, Netherlands) registered four saves in the cage.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Sophomore Karlijn Kerkhof (Rotterdam, Netherlands) currently paces the River Hawk offense with 11 goals, six assists and 28 points. Madison Leeper has added to the attack with six goals and four assists for 16 points. Senior Ava Clarke (Hopkinton, Mass.) also has five goals, so far. In the cage, Veerle Mous totals 69 saves for a .697 save percentage.
 
SERIES HISTORY
UMass Lowell is 6-11 against New Hampshire in the DI era, as the Wildcats have won the last three meetings. The River Hawks are looking for their first win against Harvard in the sixth meeting of that series.  
 
COMEBACK KIDS
The River Hawks have liked to make this exciting this year, coming from behind in four of their seven wins so far in 2025. 
 
GOING STREAKING
The River Hawks are in the midst of a three-game win streak, matching their longest run since 2023 when they won seven in a row.
 
ON THE ATTACK
Karlijn Kerkhof has been attacking the cage all season. She is currently three goals and two points away from matching the program's Division I single-season records in those categories, originally set by teammate Madison Leeper in 2023.
 
MAKING A MILESTONE
On Sept. 19 with a 14-0 victory against New Haven, Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc earned her 300th career victory. The decision also marked her 100th win as a coach at the Division I level. Her 300 victories include two national championships, 8 NE-10 titles and 1 America East regular-season championship. Coach LeBlanc is the program's winningest and longest tenured coach, now in her 24th season at the helm.
 
RECORD BREAKER
With 14 goals against New Haven on Sept. 19, the River Hawks set a new all-time, single-game record. The previous record was 10 goals, last set in 2011.
 
STIFF COMPETITION
Four of the River Hawks' 2025 opponents were listed in the NFHCA Division I preseason national rankings, including Harvard, who had checked in at No. 4. Also on the list were Massachusetts, UAlbany and Wake Forest. Last year, the River Hawks defeated one nationally ranked opponent in No. 15 Rutgers. Since 2021, the team has challenged 14 nationally ranked opponents with 10 of the 11 setbacks being decided by two goals or less, including the recent outing against No. 14 Massachusetts on Aug. 31.
 
SPREADING THE LOVE
The River Hawks have already shown their depth this year, as six different players tallied a point in the home opener. Then on Sept. 19, a DI record of 11 players registered at least a point against New Haven. So far, a total of 15 team members has logged a point.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
The season-opening win against Merrimack extended the River Hawks' home win streak to 10 games. The streak spanned from August 30, 2024, through Aug. 29, 2025, as UMass Lowell went undefeated 9-0 on its home turf in 2024.
 
STARTING STRONG
The decision against Merrimack marked the River Hawks' ninth consecutive win in a home opener at Wicked Blue. The win at Bryant then marked the fifth win in the last six America East Conference openers.
 
OF NOTE
Junior Kathryn Guertin (Holden, Mass.), freshman Alexa Guarneri (Hockessin, Del.) and freshman Helena Herlocher (State College, Pa.) logged their first career goals against New Haven (9.19) … freshman Holly Beckinsale (Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland) logged her first career goals at Queens (9.12) … Veerle Mous logged a personal-best 14 saves vs. Wake Forest (9.14) … freshmen Audrey Carter (Dover, N.H.) and Haley Wernig (Franklin, Mass.) each logged their first career goal vs. Merrimack (8.29).