River Hawks Battle No. 3 Harvard in 5-1 Setback

Friday, September 4

Cambridge, MA

4PM

University of Massachusetts Lowell

(1-2, 0-0AE)

Harvard

(1-0, 0-0IVY)

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UMass Lowell	0	0	1	0	1
Harvard	0	3	1	1	5

River Hawks Battle No. 3 Harvard in 5-1 Setback

9/4/2026 6:03:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore Haley Wernig (Franklin, Mass.) registered a goal, as the UMass Lowell field hockey team (1-2) faced a 5-1 setback against No. 3 Harvard (1-0) on Friday afternoon.

Senior Florine Gerrits (Amstelveen, Netherlands) and junior Audrey Carter (Dover, N.H.) notched two shots apiece. Sophomore goalkeeper Veerle Mous (Breda, Netherlands) recorded a season-high six saves in the outing, while classmate Megan MacMiller (Tarzana, Calif.) added two.

The River Hawk defense went right to work, handling two corners and three shots from the Crimson in the first two minutes of action. In the eighth minute, Mous made a pair of stops, including a diving save to help keep the 0-0 stalemate intact through the first quarter.

The Crimson tallied back-to-back goals in the 16^th minute, as Lucy Barker fired across the front of the cage towards the far side before Tilly Butterworth scored on a corner. Mous then made two more tough stops, including a lunging, stick stop, in the 21^st minute, but Harvard added one more goal late in the half off the stick of Sage Piekarski to take a 3-0 edge into the break.

The River Hawk offense took control in the third quarter, keeping play contained on their side of the field for the majority of the period. The team pressured with five corners, including four in a row, and although the Crimson snuck in one more goal in the 37^th minute, Wernig corralled a rebound off the keeper's pads and finished the ball to cut the difference to 4-1 in the 40^th minute.

Senior Alice Van Hemelen (Tervuren, Belgium) and sophomore Frédèrique van den Dungen (Rosmalen, Netherlands) each had a chance on target to start the fourth quarter, although the Crimson keeper made the stops. Harvard scored its final goal of the contest in the 48^th minute thanks to Lara Beekhuis, as the home team was able to hold onto the 5-1 outcome.

The River Hawks head back out on the road on Sunday, September 6 when they visit No. 11 Massachusetts for a 1 p.m. matchup.