River Hawks Show Resilience in 3-2 Comeback Win against Sacred Heart

Sunday, October 11

Lowell, Mass.

1PM

University of Massachusetts Lowell

(7-6)

Sacred Heart

(4-8)

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Sacred Heart	1	0	1	0	2
UMass Lowell	0	1	1	1	3

River Hawks Show Resilience in 3-2 Comeback Win against Sacred Heart

10/11/2026 3:54:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

LOWELL, Mass. – Freshman Frédèrique van den Dungen (Rosmalen, Netherlands) scored the game-winning goal inside the final two minutes to lift the UMass Lowell field hockey team (7-6) to a 3-2 victory against Sacred Heart (4-8) in front of a packed crowd on Youth Day at Wicked Blue Field.

The River Hawks showed off their resilience on Sunday, coming from behind twice before scoring the game winner at the end of regulation to improve to 6-0 at home this season.

"After a tough conference game on the road on Friday, I loved our resilience today," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "We set a couple team goals for ourselves, which included increasing our attacking opportunities and dialing in on the details of our penalty corners, and I thought we did a great job of accomplishing those goals today. Sacred Heart was a tough competitor and made us work for the entire 60 minutes and I loved our response of coming back from a deficit twice. It means we stayed in the game the entire time and finished it off with a high-tempo play from Fred. We are excited to get back to training this week and prepare for UNH."

Junior Audrey Carter (Dover, N.H.) paced the squad with three points on the day off one goal and one assist. Senior Karli Penrod (Seaford, Del.) also added a goal in the contest, while sophomore Rena Pistilli (Lambaré, Paraguay) chipped in with an assist. In the cage, sophomore goalkeepers Megan MacMiller (Tarzana, Calif.) and Veerle Mous (Breda, Netherlands) combined for five saves.

Less than three minutes into the game, Carter dribbled all the way to the cage and sent a short shot into the keeper's pads. Just three minutes later, the River Hawks were back in front of the SHU cage, but sophomore Helena Herlocher's (State College, Pa.) attempt was blocked by the final defender. MacMiller made her first save of the game in the ninth minute, however the Pioneers opened the scoring in the 13^th minute on their first corner of the day when Joey Pompeo got a tip on a ball from Bell Mazza.

The River Hawks were quick to retaliate, earning a corner of their own less a minute into the second half. On that play, Carter corralled a loose ball after the initial shot and dished a pass toward the post for a waiting Penrod, who tapped it in to even the score at 1-1. Sophomore Alexa Guarneri (Hockessin, Del.) put two more shots on target in the waning minutes before MacMiller made a pair of stops to keep the stalemate intact at the half.

Coming out of halftime, the visitors threatened, and although senior Christina Wagner (Cicero, N.Y.) logged a defensive save in the 33^rd minute, Sacred Heart converted on the ensuing corner with a goal from Blaire Sparks to make it 2-1. The River Hawks would not back down, though, forcing four corners of their own in the next five minutes, leading to a game-tying goal on the last set piece of the bunch when Carter redirected a ball from Pistilli to erase the difference once more at 2-2 in the 38^th minute.

The River Hawks turned up the pressure and controlled possession in the fourth quarter with four shots in the first six minutes. Mous made a blocker save in the 51^st minute and a kick save in the 54^th minute to keep the momentum with her side. Finally, in the 59^th minute, van den Dungen dribble toward the post and fired a shot that went high into the back of the net to secure the 3-2 victory.

The River Hawks head to New Hampshire for an America East matchup on Friday, October 16 at 3 p.m.