LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore Karlijn Kerkhof (Rotterdam, Netherlands) registered one goal and one assist for three points, as the UMass Lowell field hockey team (8-9, 3-2 AE) fell, 4-3, in an overtime heartbreaker against America East foe UAlbany (11-6, 3-2 AE) to wrap up the regular-season finale on Friday.
 
The River Hawks held the Great Danes scoreless for almost 42 minutes of action in the contest before the visitors came back to force overtime.
 
"This was a tale of two halves," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "One of the best halves of hockey we played all year and then we made a couple of small mistakes that UAlbany capitalized on. Winning is a skill and no doubt Albany had that skill today and we let it slip away from us in the final five minutes. We won't dwell on it, as we are entering the tournament season now. We can learn from it and knowing this team and their character, they won't' let a lead like that slip away again."
 
Kerkhof was joined by two other goal scorers in the contest, as sophomore Jaedyn Scarlatos (South Setauket, N.Y.) recorded the first goal of her UMass Lowell career and classmate Alice Van Hemelen (Tervuren, Belgium) added her fifth tally this season. In the cage, freshman goalkeeper Veerle Mous (Bred, Netherlands) totaled eight saves.
 
The River Hawks jumped in front in just the ninth minute when senior Madison Leeper (East Amherst, N.Y.) dished a short pass to Kerkhof, who fired a reverse-stick shot hard into the back of the cage to put the home side on top, 1-0.
 
UMass Lowell continued to pressure in its offensive end and was able to stretch the lead to 2-0 in the 16^th minute, as Scarlatos set up near the post in time to redirect a ball from Kerkhof. The River Hawk defense held the Great Danes off the board for the remainder of the quarter, while extinguishing three corners, to maintain a 2-0 edge at the break.
 
The visitors tested UMass Lowell with three more corners to start the second half, but the home squad held firm. Then in the 37^th minute, Van Hemelen stepped up to the ball on a restart and kept it herself, dribbling just into the circle before unleashing a hard shot on target to make it 3-0.
 
However, the Great Danes kept battling and would break open the shut out on a direct corner goal by Pilar Lorenzini in the 42^nd minute. They then added a pair of goals down the stretch just over a minute apart, as Lorenzini converted on another corner before Tessa Overgoor scored unassisted to erase the difference and even the board at 3-3. UAlbany kept the momentum and earned a corner in the final seconds, ringing a shot off the post to send the game to overtime.  
 
UAlbany took a slight, 2-1 shot advantage in the extra period, sealing the decision when Overgoor dribbled to the endline before flicking a backhanded shot into the far corner of the cage.
 
The River Hawks have now clinched the No. 4 seed for the 2025 America East Championship and will host No. 5 Maine on Sunday, November 2 in the quarterfinals. Action will begin at 12 p.m. at Wicked Blue Field.