UMass Lowell field hockey

Alissia de Vries couldn’t have picked a better time to break into the scoring column. The junior potted her first two career goals to help lead the UMass Lowell field hockey team to a 4-1 Victory over Bryant.

With the win, the River Hawks (11-5, 5-2 league) clinched a berth in the America East Championship, which begins Thursday, Nov. 3 at the University of Maine.

We were very excited to have clinched so early, Coach Shannon LeBlanc said. We don’t know who our opponent is, but the fact that we know were in the tournament earlier than the night before has been a completely different experience than previous years.

This marks UML’s third playoff appearance at the Division I level, in what has been a bounce-back season for the Squad after missing the tourney last year.

I think that was a motivating factor for this core group, said LeBlanc. We played good hockey last year but couldn’t figure out how to win big games. Its completely different this year.

Led by the Offensive Firepower of Jenna Berger (7 goals, 20 points), Berbel Rozema (6 goals, 14 points), and backstopped by the great goaltending of junior Eleonore Boekhirst (11-5, 1.37), the team has stood tall, Stoning Talented Clubs such as Stanford, New Hampshire and Vermont, to help secure its spot.

Two local Graduate students, Westfords Hannah Keefe and Littletons Lily Watson, have helped stabilize the unit, along with a strong group of underclassmen who include Littleton sophomore Valerie Crory.

The core group has been amazing with their attention to detail on the field, and their leadership off the field, said LeBlanc. Their goal from the beginning of preseason was to make the tournament and win it. So far, they are well on their way to achieving both goals.

Heading into the week, the River Hawks were 24th in the Nation in the NCAA Division I RPI rankings. The team also placed 26th nationally in goals against average (1.39), 22nd in save percentage (.747) and 21st in winning percentage (.667).

I think the difference this year is the combination of experience and new energy from first-year players, along with tremendous leadership from our captains, Seniors and fifth-year Graduate transfers, said LeBlanc. Its been amazing to watch the camaraderie off the field, which is transferring to great play and Synergy on the field.

The River Hawks wrap up the regular season Friday, hosting California at 1 pm A win will secure them a second-place conference finish, and No. 3 seed in the upcoming tourney.

The Coach is confident about her team’s chances.

I believe they were playing really good hockey right now, said LeBlanc. But were still searching for that complete game of 60 minutes of Lowell hockey. We want to make sure we stay disciplined in our structure, pay attention to the details, and have an extremely high work ethic. We’ve done a good job of bringing those things at various times but hope to combine them for the full game. I expect well to do that versus Cal, and hopefully Monmouth, which will set us up very well for our first game on Thursday in the America East Tournament.

From there the sky is the limit.

Women’s hoop ranked sixth

The Women’s basketball team was selected sixth in the America East Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

Last season, UMass Lowell made its fourth straight postseason appearance. The River Hawks received 27 points in this year’s poll ahead of New Hampshire, Bryant and UMBC. UAlbany was picked first with seven first-place votes, with Maine, Vermont, NJIT and Binghamton rounding out the top five.

UML opens Nov. 7 at Boston College.

Mens hoop tabbed third

The men’s basketball team was third in the America East Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

Following a 2021-22 campaign in which the River Hawks allowed the fewest points per game in the program’s Division I history, UML received 47 points. This marks the team’s best preseason ranking since joining the America East.

Coming off winning its league-best ninth league championship, Vermont was picked to finish first in the poll with 63 total points and seven first-place votes. The season tips off Nov. 7 when the River Hawks host Fisher at 6 p.m