LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell field hockey team (8-8, 3-1 AE) is set to wrap up the regular season against UAlbany (10-6, 2-2 AE) at Wicked Blue Field on Thursday, October 30 at 3 p.m.
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE
For the first time, each game of the America East Championship will be hosted by the higher seed. The River Hawks have already clinched a top four seed and a home playoff game. The quarterfinal round begins on Sunday, November 2. The winners of the two quarterfinal matchups will advance to take on the top two seeds in the semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 4 to determine the two teams that will play for the title and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 7.
 
RIVER HAWK REWIND
The River Hawks went 1-1 last week, winning their first match, 3-2, at Maine on Oct. 24 and then falling, 5-1 to Quinnipiac Oct. 26. Junior Karli Penrod (Seaford, Del.) scored three goals on the week, while sophomore Alice Van Hemelen ( Tervuren, Belgium) scored the game-winner at Maine. Goalkeeper Veerle Mous (Breda, Netherlands) registered 21 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 five assists for 17 points. Senior Ava Clarke (Hopkinton, Mass.) also has five goals, so far. In the cage, Veerle Mous totals 103 saves for a .687 save percentage.
 
SERIES HISTORY
UMass Lowell is currently 2-14 against UAlbany, after facing a 2-1 setback last year.
 
COMEBACK KIDS
The River Hawks have liked to make this exciting this year, coming from behind in five of their eight 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 three-way tie for first place in the America East with one league game remaining. Karlijn Kerkhof ranks second in the league for goals per game (0.750) and Veerle Mous is second in the conference with 6.44 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.
 
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).