LOWELL, Mass. – Coming off of a strong week on the road, the UMass Lowell field hockey team (6-5) is back home to host defending America East Champion Vermont on Friday, October 10 at 3 p.m.
 
RIVER HAWK REWIND
The River Hawks went 2-0 on the road last week, first picking up a 3-1 America East victory at Bryant on Oct. 3 before defeating Darmouth, 4-3, on Oct. 5. Sophomore Karlijn Kerkhof (Rotterdam, Netherlands) totaled three goals to lead the offensive effort, while freshman goalkeeper Veele Mous (Breda, Netherlands) registered 15 saves in the cage.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Sophomore Karlijn Kerkhof (Rotterdam, Netherlands) currently paces the River Hawk offense with 11 goals, five assists and 27 points. Senior Madison Leeper (East Amherst, N.Y.) adds to the attack with five goals and four assists for 14 points. Senior Ava Clarke (Hopkinton, Mass.) also has five goals, so far. In the cage, Veerle Mous totals 65 saves for a .677 save percentage.
 
SERIES HISTORY
UMass Lowell owns a 9-8 edge in the series against Vermont, although the Catamounts have won the last two meetings.  
 
COMEBACK KIDS
The River Hawks have liked to make this exciting this year, coming from behind in four of their six wins so far in 2025.  
 
ON THE ATTACK
Karlijn Kerkhof has been attacking the cage all season. She is currently three goals and four 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 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 an 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 fourth win in the last five 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. Massachusetts (9.14) … freshmen Audrey Carter (Dover, N.H.) and Haley Wernig (Franklin, Mass.) each logged their first career goal vs. Merrimack (8.29).