WALTHAM, Mass. – First-half goals by senior Beth Maguire (Medfield/Medfield HS) and freshman Meghan Talerman (Centerville/Barnstable HS), coupled with a standout defensive effort all night, enabled Bentley University to stun visiting UMass-Lowell, the fourth-ranked team in Division II, by a count of 2-0 in Northeast-10 Conference field hockey Thursday.

Facing one of the top scoring teams in Division II (over four goals a game), senior goalkeeper Julia Powell (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug HS) and the Falcon defense withstood a barrage of second-half shots by the River Hawks to preserve the two-goal advantage. After intermission, shots were 15-0 and UMass-Lowell had a 7-1 edge in penalty corners.

The defensive unit that recorded Bentley's third shutout of the season and ended Lowell's nine-game winning streak also featured senior Kelsey Mattson (Bristol, N.H./Newfound Regional HS) and juniors Mollie Ricker (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin HS), Nichole Black (Dover, N.H./Dover HS) and Melissa Martorelli (Holmdel, N.J./Holmdel HS).

Bentley (5-6, 2-2 NE-10) jumped on top in the 11th minute with Maguire knocking in a rebound following a Falcon penalty corner. The unassisted tally was her team-leading sixth of the season. About six-and-a-half minutes later, Talerman took the ball into the circle alone and beat Lowell netminder Melanie Hopkins (Harwich) one-on-one for her third of the year.

Powell, who also blanked Lowell a year ago (1-0 in OT), finished with eight saves while Hopkins had four.

The River Hawks (10-2, 5-1 NE-10), who had won their last 15 games against conference opponents, finished with 12 more shots (19-7) and eight more penalty corners (11-3).

Bentley will look to get back to .500 Saturday afternoon when it plays a 1 pm contest at American International.