Lowell, MA – Senior Claudia Marin Samper recorded two goals and one assist and classmate goalie Lauren Saltus recorded 13 saves to lead the Hofstra Pride to its third consecutive victory in a 4-3 win over the Riverhawks of UMass Lowell at Cushing Field Friday night. The Pride improved to 5-4 on the season while UMass Lowell slipped to 3-4.

Marin Samper's five points on the night gives her a team-leading 26 points on the season. It also gives her 128 points in her career to pass Janet Walsh (127 from 1995-98) and move into second on the all-time Hofstra career points chart. Marin Samper is tied for the career assists lead with Genna Kovar (2008-11) with 34 while her 47 career goals rank fifth, 10 behind career leader Kovar with 57.

Saltus continued her hot hand in the Pride goal, recording her third consecutive victory and boosting her save total to 35 over that span.

Hofstra jumped on the Riverhawks early, scoring the first three goals of the contest in the first 26 minutes. Marin Samper opened the scoring with her eighth goal of the year off a pass from sophomore Madison Sauve at the 9:29 mark. A little over two minutes later, Marin Samper added her ninth goal of the season, picking up her own rebound and beating UML goalie Kelsey Federico (8 saves).

Pride senior Emily Gallagher made it 3-0 with her third goal of the year at the 25:10 mark off a pass from classmate Stella Schoen. But just 2:17 later, the Riverhawks closed the deficit to 3-1 when Torrie Huk scored off a rebound following a penalty corner to close out the scoring in the half. Hofstra outshot UML, 16-9 in the first 35 minutes while the Riverhawks had a 4-2 advantage in penalty corners.

Sauve gave the Pride some more breathing room 9:10 into the second half with her fifth goal of the season off a pass from Marin Samper for a 4-1 lead. But UMass Lowell did not give up.

Just 40 seconds later, Carleen O'Connell notched her second goal of the season off a rebound to close the deficit to two. Eight minutes later, Katie Luchino scored her second goal of the season, off a penalty corner, with Georgia Cowderoy assisting to close to 4-3. But despite heavy pressure by the Riverhawks, who outshot the Pride, 14-5 in the second half, the Pride's defense, behind Saltus' eight second half saves, did not break and hung on for the victory.
 
Hofstra returns to action on Sunday (Sept. 25) when the Pride travel to the Bauer Track and Field/Field Hockey Complex at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey to face the Red Flashes of Saint Francis University at 1 p.m. The game was originally scheduled to be played in Hempstead but had to be moved to accommodate Monday's Presidential Debate on the Hofstra campus.