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LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell Men's Lacrosse team fell to Siena College, 13-9 in their first Division I home game at Cushing Field Saturday afternoon. The River Hawks fell to 0-2 on the season, while the Saints improved to 1-2. 

"We got better from last week, and that's what we want to do every week," said Head Coach Ed Stephenson. "We made good stops and I thought [Giles] Ober played spectacular in goal, and we gave ourselves a chance. We made a couple big mistakes at different points in the game when they went on a scoring run, that was a big point where they pulled away a bit and there was no need for that. We didn't win the faceoffs , but I thought we moved the ball on offense and we made stops on defense. Guys just fought; and after last week we just wanted to come out and compete for four quarters, and we did that. The next step we need to take is to be able to do that and play a smarter game."

The first quarter featured some back-and-forth scoring between both squads. Siena College went up 1-0 just 22 seconds into the game with a goal from Ryan Mallon before freshman midfielder Jon Phillips (Delta, B.C.) scored his first of the season at the 1:45 mark of the first quarter. Phillips would add another tally later in the quarter, while freshman attacker Sean Tyrrell (Calgary, Alberta) would also find the back of the net for the River Hawks.

With Siena going up 5-3 early on in the second quarter, Phillips would help his team battle back with two more goals just over two minutes apart to make it a tie game. Although the River Hawks showed some momentum, Siena would strike back with six straight goals before the halftime buzzer sounded.

The River Hawks would outscore the Saints 4-2 in the second half, including goals from sophomore midfielder Sam Klingsporn (Aloha, Ore.), and another tally from Tyrrell. Both sophomore attacker Nicholas Pino (North Andover, Mass.) and freshman attacker Matthew Balter (West Sand Lake, N.Y.) notched their first career goals in the second half. 

Phillips lead the River Hawks in scoring with six points (4g,2a) in the game, while Tyrrell also made a big impact with three points (2g,1a). Freshman attacker Keenan Koswin also had a multi-point game for the River Hawks, adding two assists in the game.

Nate Barry and Conor Prunty were the standout performers for Siena College, each having added four points in the game. Barry tallied four goals while Prunty added one goal and three assists.

Sophomore goalkeeper Giles Ober (Southborough, Mass.) made 11 saves for the River Hawks and recorded a team-high six ground balls.

The River Hawks will return to action next Saturday, the 28th as they host Wagner College at the Cushing Field Complex. Start time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.