LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell field hockey team (7-7, 2-1 AE) is set for a pair of matchups this week. The squad first visits America East foe Maine (5-9, 1-2 AE) on Friday, October 24 for a 3 p.m. matchup. The team then heads home to host Quinnipiac (9-6) in a non-conference contest on Sunday, Oct. 26 for Senior Day.
 
RIVER HAWK REWIND
The River Hawks faced two tough setbacks last week, falling 7-0 to New Hampshire on Oct. 17 and 5-1 against No. 4 Harvard on Oct. 19. Sophomore Karlijn Kerkhof (Rotterdam, Netherlands) scored the lone goal against Harvard, while freshman Goalkeeper Veerle Mous (Breda, Netherlands) registered twenty saves in the cage between the two games.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Sophomore Karlijn Kerkhof (Rotterdam, Netherlands) currently paces the River Hawk offense with 12 goals, six assists and 30 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 89 saves for a .690 save percentage.
 
SERIES HISTORY
UMass Lowell is currently 14-2 against Maine, but the River Hawks have won the last two meetings. Against Quinnipiac, the River Hawks own a 4-1 lead in the 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.
 
ON THE ATTACK
Karlijn Kerkhof has been attacking the cage all season. She is currently two goals and one point away from matching the program's Division I single-season records in those categories, originally set by teammate Madison Leeper in 2023.

AROUND THE AMERICA EAST
The River Hawks are currently in a four-way tie for first place in the America East with two league games remaining. Karlijn Kerkhof ranks second in the league for goals per game (0.86) and Veerle Mous leads the conference with 6.36 saves per game.
 
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 15 nationally ranked opponents with 10 of the 12 setbacks being decided by two goals or less, including this season's 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 16 team members have 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).