River Hawks Defeat Brown, 2-0, in Sunday Storm

Sunday, September 27

Lowell, Mass.

1PM

University of Massachusetts Lowell

(5-4)

Brown

(3-5)

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

River Hawks Defeat Brown, 2-0, in Sunday Storm

9/27/2026 3:37:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

LOWELL, Mass. – The weather could not dampen the efforts of the UMass Lowell field hockey team (5-4) en route to a 2-0 victory against Brown (3-5) on Sunday afternoon.

The River Hawks used goals from junior Audrey Carter (Dover, N.H.) and senior Alice Van Hemelen (Tervuren, Belgium) in the decision, while sophomore Megan MacMiller (Tarzana, Calif.) added four, second-half saves to secure the shutout. With the decision, UMass Lowell improves to 4-0 at home so far this season.

"The team was dialed in today," said Head Coach Shannon LeBlanc. "We had a great week of training and they weren't going to let a Nor'easter slow them down. We talked about wanting a consistent stretch of disciplined hockey and we achieved that today. We built off last weekend and took another step forward against a tough Ivy League opponent. We are excited for another week of great training and taking even another step forward when we open conference play next weekend."

The River Hawks registered the first two corners and shots of the day before the Bears tested sophomore keeper Veerle Mous (Breda, Netherlands) for the first time with an attempt she handled swiftly. The home side would then earn two more corners in the waning minutes of the first quarter, converting in the 15^th minute, as a hard ball from Carter was deflected by the defense up high into the net.

UMass Lowell kept the pressure on to start the second quarter thanks to a reverse-stick blast by Van Hemelen in the 17^th minute, but the Brown keeper was able to make the kick save. The home side then thwarted two corner chances for the Bears throughout the remainder of the period, taking the 1-0 edge into the break.

Coming out of halftime, the teams battled for possession. The River Hawks earned a corner in the 35^th minute, but sophomore Rena Pistilli's (Lambaré, Paraguay) attempt was blocked. In the 45^th minute, the Bears threatened to even the board, but MacMiller made back-to-back saves on a corner opportunity to keep her side on top.

UMass Lowell continued to pressure on the offensive end and would extend the lead to 2-0 in the 47^th minute when Van Hemelen dribbled through traffic before firing a reverse-stick chip that rang the back of the cage. The Bears had a chance to get on the board in the final minutes on one last corner, but MacMiller added another stop to seal the 2-0 outcome.

Next up, the River Hawks open America East Conference action on Friday, October 2 when Bryant comes to Wicked Blue Field. Action begins at 3 p.m. and admission is free thanks to Eastern Salt and Mahoney Oil.