As UMass Lowell continues to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the merger between Lowell Technological Institute and Lowell State College, the story of lacrosse reflects one of the university’s most unique athletic journeys. It is a story that stretches across different names, different eras and different versions of the school itself. It is also a story of new beginnings.

For the men’s program, those beginnings reach back well before the merger. In the spring of 1950, Lowell Textile Institute, a predecessor of Lowell State, took the field against Harvard’s freshman squad, with the team referred to then as the Weavers. Three years later, the 1953 Lowell Tech team was competing across New England, facing programs such as Amherst, Nichols Junior College, Tufts, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

That early foundation gave lacrosse a place in Lowell long before the 1975 merger created the University of Lowell. By the early 1980s, the Lowell’s men’s lacrosse team had begun to carve out one of its strongest stretches. Jonathan Geanakos ’84 remembers joining a program that was still trying to establish itself. What he found, though, was a group ready to change its trajectory.

“The team was not successful before my freshman year and it was surprising to see the level of talent the squad possessed when I, and three other key freshman teammates, arrived on campus in 1980-81,” Geanakos recalled. “The exciting thing was I and the other freshmen were named first line starters to begin the year, and that’s the way it stayed all four years. It was a great opportunity to make an immediate impact on the program and help set our path of consistent success in motion.”

That path soon turned into one of the defining runs of the program’s early history. The 1983 Chiefs went 11-1 overall and posted a perfect 7-0 mark in league play on their way to a Colonial League Championship. Coached by Steve Connolly, the team combined experience and talent with one of the stingiest defenses in the region, allowing just 5.6 goals per game.

For Geanakos, the memories are still tied to the games, the fields and the opponents that tested Lowell’s rise.

“A few stand out,” he reminisced. “Defeating Babson College at home my freshman year for one. They were ranked nationally and had beaten Lowell badly the prior year, so it was a huge statement for our young program. Our battle with New England College on their Henniker, N.H. field my junior year. It was a crazy crowd and a super close win. They were very talented and we were evenly matched. Losing a very close game under the lights at Holy Cross in front of a huge and very loud crowd my junior year and beating Westfield State under the lights on their field to win the Colonial League championship my junior year.”

Those years helped create more than wins. They created the kind of bonds that become the backbone of any program’s legacy. The University of Lowell program would later be discontinued after the 1989 season, but for those who played, the memories remained.

“I was blessed to spend four great years with a small subset of lacrosse teammates that have very literally become my brothers,” Geanakos shared. “There is something very special about the bonds formed over 45 years of friendship, and it all started at ULowell on the Astro-dirt behind Costello Gym back in the spring of 1981. I feel very fortunate that good fortune guided me to our school. It’s changed my life in so many positive ways.”

For more than two decades after the 1989 season, men’s lacrosse did not compete as a varsity program at UMass Lowell. Then came another beginning.

In 2013, as UMass Lowell prepared for its move into NCAA Division I and the America East Conference, the university announced that men’s lacrosse would return to competition in the spring of 2015, marking the homecoming of a sport with deep roots. 

The men’s team earned the first victory of its Division I era on March 7, 2015, defeating NJIT, 9-7, in a matchup of first-year Division I programs. The win gave a new generation its own place in the record book, while reconnecting the program with the players who had carried the torch before.

“Of course, I was very pleased to see lacrosse come back to UMass Lowell,” Geanakos said. “It’s nice to see it reinstated and I am a very strong supporter of Coach Kelleher and the culture he’s building with our current young roster. He’s a true leader and I am confident, as long as the school provides the support needed to be competitive, the team will be challenging for America East championships in the next few years.”

For the women, UMass Lowell’s move to Division I and the America East marked the creation of something entirely new. The River Hawk women’s lacrosse program made its debut on February 14, 2015, at Massachusetts. Taylor Sokol scored the first goal in program history that afternoon.

For Laura and Elizabeth Kender ’16, that moment remains one of the lasting memories of their time at UMass Lowell. The twin sisters were part of the first Division I women’s lacrosse team and later became the first graduates of the program, serving as captains during their senior year.

“The biggest memory I have being a part of the women’s lacrosse program was our first win in program history,” Laura said of the 12-8 victory against Siena on March 2, 2016. “It made it extra special that it happened on home turf. I can’t even describe that feeling. I just remember throwing my stick up and running to celebrate.”

Elizabeth remembers that same moment as the payoff for everything the first teams had poured into the program.

“That moment on the field after our first win is something we will never forget. It felt like all of the hard work, commitment and teamwork had truly paid off,” Elizabeth shared.

Their journey to UMass Lowell began with academics, not athletics. Both were drawn to the university’s plastics engineering program, an opportunity that helped make Lowell feel like the right place even before women’s lacrosse became a varsity option.

“During our freshman year, we played club hockey and lacrosse,” explained Elizabeth. When the university transitioned to Division I and launched the women’s lacrosse program, we were fortunate to earn a spot on the inaugural team and help lay the foundation for the program. Looking back, we are incredibly proud of our decision to come to UMass Lowell, academically and athletically. It was the best decision ever.”

“Saying yes to joining the inaugural team was the best decision of my life,” added Laura. “Playing lacrosse at UMass Lowell while also getting a degree in plastics engineering helped shape me into the woman I am today. I am so grateful for UMass Lowell.”

Building a Division I program from the ground up required patience, belief and commitment. The early seasons were not about wins and losses. They were about setting expectations, learning what Division I demanded and creating a culture that future River Hawks could inherit.

“The day-to-day experience was incredibly challenging, rewarding and memorable,” Elizabeth commented. “Our schedules were packed with balancing demanding engineering coursework, labs, practices, lifts, physical therapy, games and travel. It was not easy, but it was one of the most fulfilling times of our lives. Studying plastics engineering while competing at the Division I level taught us many life skills that we still use today.”

Laura still thinks back to the rhythm of those days.

“When I look back on my time as an athlete at UMass Lowell, sometimes I still can’t believe that we would wake up before the sun rose, practice, go to class, go to practice again, and then go to more classes and study, all in a day,” she said. “The structure and rigor of being a student-athlete has helped me in my professional career in so many aspects.”

For the Kenders, the experience was made even more meaningful because they shared it together.

“Playing on the first-ever Division I women’s lacrosse team at UMass Lowell was a dream come true, but being able to share that experience with my twin sister made it even more special,” Elizabeth said. “Competing together at such a high level, building a program from the ground up, and supporting each other every step of the way is something we will always treasure.”

“Not all twins want to go to the same school, so the fact that we had the same interests and both were able to play together is something I will always be grateful for,” Laura added.

The foundation built by those early teams has helped the program grow immensely over the last decade. In 2024, the women’s lacrosse program earned a berth into the America East Championship for the first time in program history. One year later, the River Hawks reached another milestone, earning a share of their first America East Regular-Season Championship with a 5-1 finish in conference play. Jade Catlin was named America East Attacker of the Year, while Alexa Kuhn became the program’s first America East Goalkeeper of the Year.

For those who were there at the beginning, seeing the program reach new heights has only added meaning to the work they did years earlier.

“Seeing the growth and continued success of UMass Lowell Athletics has been incredible,” Elizabeth stated. “Watching the women’s lacrosse team qualify for the America East Tournament in 2024 and consistently improve year after year is especially meaningful. It is rewarding to know we played a small role in helping build the foundation for a program that continues to grow and thrive.”

The progress of both the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams is part of the larger story of UMass Lowell Athletics over the past 50 years. Since the merger, the department has evolved from two separate campuses and traditions into a Division I athletics program with a growing national profile. For alumni from every era, the change is easy to see.

“I feel so special to be a part of UMass Lowell Athletics,” Laura said. “UMass Lowell has made its name heard nationwide and it’s so exciting to see the school getting the praise it deserves.”

Geanakos echoes similar sentiments, while also recognizing the challenges that come with competing and continuing a growth trajectory in today’s Division I landscape.

“I am honored to be a small part of UMass Lowell Athletics and remain enthusiastic about where our athletic culture as a school can go,” he summarized. “The rules of engagement are so challenging for all NCAA Division I sports, having changed so dramatically over the past five years, with NIL, the transfer portal, collectives and more, but even more difficult for mid-majors like UMass Lowell. Universities must make significant financial and cultural commitments to their programs to elevate them nationally.”

For both lacrosse programs, the future is still being written. The men’s team carries the memory of Lowell Textile, Lowell Tech and University of Lowell teams that competed decades before the River Hawk era. The women’s team carries the pride of a program built from nothing by student-athletes who said yes to a chance few others had before them.

Together, they represent one of the clearest examples of what this 50th anniversary celebration is meant to honor. Programs change. Names change. Conferences change. Fields change. But the people who build something, who believe in it before the results arrive, and who leave it better for the next generation, remain at the heart of UMass Lowell Athletics.

“Our time at UMass Lowell was the best,” Elizabeth said. “From being part of a brand-new Division I program to getting our master’s in plastics engineering, the experience prepared us for life beyond college. Seeing the continued success of the lacrosse team reinforces how special it was to be part of the program’s beginning and to watch it grow into what it is now.”