River Hawks Battle Valiantly at No. 12 Syracuse, Fall in Shootout

Syracuse, N.Y. – Freshman Mae Kemps (Vught, Netherlands) scored late in regulation to force overtime, as the UMass Lowell field hockey team (3-4) batted valiantly at No. 12 Syracuse before falling, 3-2, in the shootout.

After Kemps rang the back of the cage in the 52^nd minute, the teams battled tirelessly through 15 minutes of overtime, but the defenses allowed no shots on target for either side, sending the game into a shootout. Down 1-0 in the third round, sophomore Rena Pistilli (Lambaré, Paraguay) raced into the circle and fired hard to tie it up. Syracuse regained the upper hand, but Kemps evaded the opposing keeper to once again knot things up, this time at 2-2. However, the game was decided in favor of Syracuse in the final round of the shootout.

"I am incredibly proud of the team today and my coaching staff for the preparation and the plan," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "The team stayed structured, they were disciplined and resilient. It was a complete team effort. Obviously, we expect to win, but today we feel as though we took another leap in our development. We are excited to be back on our Wicked Blue on Sunday and play another great game in front of our alums."

Senior Alice Van Hemelen (Tervuren, Belgium) also scored in the outing. Sophomore goalkeepers Veerle Mous (Breda, Netherlands) and Megan MacMiller (Tarzana, Calif.) split time in the cage with four saves apiece.

The teams played evenly matched in the first quarter, as Syracuse took a slight, 3-2 edge on shots. Senior Karli Penrod (Seaford, Del.) registered the first attempt of the day for the River Hawks, but it was blocked. The Orange then earned a corner in the 14^th minute, and although the River Hawks blocked the first shot on the play, Sammie Goin collected the loose ball and slipped a put-back chance into the near corner.

The River Hawks kept battling, though, and secured two corners in the first minute of the second half. In the 17^th minute, the visitors' defensive press forced a Syracuse turnover that UMass Lowell was able to capitalize on, as Van Hemelen dribbled into the circle and fired a reverse-stick hit into the back of the cage to erase the difference and even the score at 1-1. The home side tried to retaliate throughout the remainder of the second quarter, but the Mous was steadfast in the cage, collecting four saves to send the teams into the break even at 1-1.

Coming out of halftime, the teams battled for the momentum. UMass Lowell registered a pair of shots and corners to start the third and MacMiller logged a pair of saves. In the 43^rd minute, Syracuse forced a corner, and despite another MacMiller save and a ball off the post, Taylor Bigbie finally was able to finish the ball and give Syracuse a 2-1 edge.

The River Hawks did not back down and worked to turn defense into offense, denying an Orange corner and pushing the ball all the way up the field until Penrod dished a pass ahead to junior Audrey Carter (Dover, N.H.), who sent a centering pass to Kemps out in front to make it 2-2 and set up the thrilling finish.

The River Hawks return home to host Stonehill on Sunday, September 20 for Alumni Day. Attendance at all home games is free thanks to Eastern Salt and Mahoney Oil.

River Hawks Battle Valiantly at No. 12 Syracuse, Fall in Shootout

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Players Mentioned

Audrey Carter

Mae Kemps

Megan MacMiller

Veerle Mous

Karli Penrod

Rena Pistilli

Alice Van Hemelen

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