River Hawks Soar to 4-0 Victory at New Hampshire on Friday

Friday, October 16

Durham, NH

3PM

University of Massachusetts Lowell

(8-6, 2-1)

New Hampshire

(4-7, 2-1)

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UMass Lowell	0	1	2	1	4
New Hampshire	0	0	0	0	0

Rena Pistilli fighting for ball against UNH defender

River Hawks Soar to 4-0 Victory at New Hampshire on Friday

10/16/2026 5:11:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

DURHAM, N.H. – Sophomore Rena Pistilli (Lambaré, Paraguay) registered her first career hat trick, propelling the UMass Lowell field hockey team (8-6, 2-1 AE) to a 4-0 victory at America East Conference foe New Hampshire (4-7, 2-1) on Friday afternoon.

"This was a statement win for us today," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "We have been working towards putting all the pieces together and today was the day. We played with high tempo and structure for 60 minutes. We were connected, we were disciplined and we stayed poised throughout the game. I am very proud of the team's performance today and their belief in their abilities. I am looking forward to stringing two games like this together as we head into Sunday."

Senior Karli Penrod (Seaford, Del.) tallied four points in the outing off one goal and two assists. Freshman Frédèrique van den Dungen (Rosmalen, Netherlands) added two assists, while senior Alice Van Hemelen (Tervuren, Belgium) chipped in with one. In the cage, sophomores Veerle Mous (Breda, Netherlands) and Megan MacMiller (Tarzana, Calif.) combined for three saves in the shutout.

The River Hawks were quick to test the opposing keeper, as senior Florine Gerrits (Amstelveen, Netherlands) put a shot into her pads less than three minutes into play. The visitors continued to pressure with back-to-back corners and another shot on target, this time from sophomore Holly Beckinsale (Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland). Late in the first period, UNH earned its first corner, but Mous swiftly made a stop to keep the game scoreless.

In the 18^th minute, Penrod worked the ball through traffic in the circle before getting enough space to fire a reverse-stick chip high into the net and put the River Hawks on top, 1-0. UMass Lowell would keep play in its offensive end, launching four more shots in the next three minutes, however, the one-goal difference carried into the break.

Coming out of halftime, the River Hawks went right back to work in their attacking end, converting on direct corners from Pistilli in the 33^rd and 41^st minutes to pull away, 3-0. The Wildcats answered with one shot on a corner of their own in the waning minutes of the period, but it was blocked before reaching the cage.

In the 49^th minute, MacMiller made a save to keep the home side off the board, allowing Pistilli to extend the lead to 4-0 just five minutes later on her third corner goal of the day, this time with an assist from Van Hemelen. The River Hawks went on to thwart two more Wildcat corners in the final minutes, securing their second shutout in America East play and fourth this season.

UMass Lowell is set to honor its seniors on Sunday, October 18 against Dartmouth. Action begins at 3 p.m. and admission is free all year at Wicked Blue Field thanks to Eastern Salt and Mahoney Oil.