River Hawks Score Early, but Fall, 2-1, at Stanford in Season Opener

Friday, August 28

Stanford, CA

7PM

University of Massachusetts Lowell

(0-2, 0-0)

Stanford

(2-0, 0-0)

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UMass Lowell	1	0	0	0	1
Stanford	0	0	2	0	2

Brynn Somers dribbling vs. Stanford defender

River Hawks Score Early, but Fall, 2-1, at Stanford in Season Opener

8/28/2026 8:59:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

STANFORD, Calif. – Senior Karli Penrod (Seaford, Del.) tallied a first half goal, as the UMass Lowell field hockey team (0-1) faced a 2-1 setback at Stanford in the 2026 season opener.

"Overall, I'm happy with our performance today," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "We had two breakdowns and Stanford made us pay. I thought our work rate was high, our structure was solid and we had some great goal scoring opportunities. Obviously, we aren't happy with the end result, but we have a lot of positives to build on, along with some changes that we can make for Sunday. We are looking forward to the opportunity to take another step forward against UC Davis."

The River Hawks and the Cardinal were evenly matched in the contest with three corners and four shots on goal apiece. Sophomore goalkeepers Veerle Mous (Breda, Netherlands) and Megan MacMiller (Tarzana, Calif.) each recorded one save.

The teams traded possessions early in the contest, with neither side able to register a shot for almost 10 minutes. The River Hawks then went on the attack with two chances before Penrod broke free from the pack, dribbled into the circle and fired high into the top left corner in the 14^th minute to tally the first goal of the game and the season for UMass Lowell.

Stanford responded with a shot on goal and two corners to start the second quarter, but Mous and the River Hawk defense thwarted the opportunities to keep the home side off the board and head into halftime with a 1-0 advantage.

Coming out of the break, the Cardinal continued to pressure with two more shots before Natalie Hoppe drove a long pass into the circle through traffic that Ella Ganocy was able to get a final touch on, evening the score at 1-1 in the 42^nd minute. Just over a minute later, the home team's Opal Sparling dribbled toward the end line and sent a centering pass across the circle for a one-timer from Star Horlock, giving Stanford a 2-1 edge.

The River Hawks continued to battle and earned one final corner in the 52^nd minute, but Stanford's keeper was able to save a strong attempt from sophomore Rena Pistilli (Lambaré, Paraguay) to help seal the 2-1 outcome.

UMass Lowell remains on the west coast for one more game, visiting UC Davis on Sunday, August 30 at 4 p.m. ET.