Women’s field hockey began a two-game road trip on Friday against No. 18 UMass Lowell. The Catamounts look to improve their 1-1 conference record, as do the 8-2 River Hawks who stand at 1-0 within the conference. 

The River Hawks offense struck early as sophomore forward Madison Leeper scored two minutes into the first quarter. They would continue their momentum throughout the quarter, outshooting UVM 10-3.

The Catamounts tied the match late in the quarter with a goal from sophomore forward Sophia Lefranc. However, the River Hawks kept the offense moving in the second quarter: Senior back Alissia De Vries made it 2-1 for UMass Lowell.

That lead was kept throughout the rest of the match even after the River Hawks switched to a defensive approach in the second half. UVM, while outshooting UMass Lowell 5-4 in the half, couldn’t break through their defense. 

The next match was against the No. 12 Boston College Eagles.

After a first quarter that only saw one shot by Boston College, the second saw Boston College score three goals in three minutes. The goals came from senior midfielder Peyton Hale, sophomore midfielder Eva Kluskens and first-year midfielder Madelieve Drion.  

The second half only saw two shots from the Catamounts, while Boston College scored two more goals by junior midfielder Victoria Arra and another by Drion. 

The Catamounts dropped to 4-7 on the season, but look to improve their record against conference opponent Stanford on Oct. 6.