LOWELL, Mass. – The No. 4 seeded UMass Lowell field hockey team (8-9, 3-2 AE) has earned the right to host the first round of the 2025 America East Championship and will welcome No. 5 Maine to Wicked Blue Field for a quarterfinal matchup on Sunday, November 2 at 12 p.m.
 
PLAYOFF PICTURE
For the first time, each game of the America East Championship will be hosted by the higher seed. The winner of the quarterfinal matchup between UMass Lowell and Maine will advance to take on the top seeded Vermont Catamounts in the semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 4 to play for a spot in the title game and an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 7.
 
A WIN WOULD
A win would give the River Hawks their first ever postseason victory at the Division I level. Although the Black Bears lead the all-time series between the squads, UMass Lowell has won the last three meetings, including a 3-2 victory during the 2025 regular season.
 
RIVER HAWK REWIND
The River Hawks fell, 4-3, in overtime against UAlbany in the regular-season finale on Oct. 30. Sophomore Karlijn Kerkhof (Rotterdam, Netherlands) totaled three points in the decision. Goalkeeper Veerle Mous (Breda, Netherlands) registered eight saves in the cage, as well.
 
LEADING THE FLOCK
Karlijn Kerkhof currently paces the River Hawk offense with 13 goals, seven assists and 33 points. Senior Madison Leeper has added to the attack with six goals and six assists for 18 points. In the cage, Veerle Mous totals 109 saves for a .681 save percentage.
 
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. With three points again UAlbany on Oct. 30, she set a new Division I single-season points record for the program, surpassing teammate Madison Leeper (31 pts. in 2023). She is also one goal away from tying the program's DI single-season goals record, also set by Leeper in 2023.
 
AROUND THE AMERICA EAST
The River Hawks have clinched a playoff spot for the fourth consecutive year. Karlijn Kerkhof ranks second in the league for goals per game (0.765) and Veerle Mous leads the conference with 109 saves.
 
MAKING A MILESTONE
On Sept. 19 with a 14-0 victory against New Haven, Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc earned her 300^th career victory. The decision also marked her 100^th 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 24^th 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
Sophomore Jaedyn Scarlatos (South Setauket, N.Y.) scored the first goal of her River Hawk career against UAlbany (10.30) … 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).