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LOWELL, Mass. – The UMass Lowell women's lacrosse team made history, soaring past Siena, 12-8, to pick up their first win in program history.
"It was a long time coming," said Head Coach
Carissa Medeiros. "Our girls took the game from the very beginning, we dominated and did the things we talked about at practice. We fixed the mistakes we needed to make from our own end and we did what we needed to do to prepare to face a very good Siena team. We wanted this win and I am very proud of my girls.
In addition to notching its first program win, UMass Lowell tallied a program-high 12 goals, while freshman midfielder
Kristina Keith (Exeter, N.H.) tied a program-best five points (4g, 1a) in the contest.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Courtney Barrett (South Burlington, Vt.) recorded 11 saves and a team-high eight groundballs in the midst of picking up her first career win.
Siena struck quickly, opening up the scoring less than two minutes in, after capitalizing on an UMass Lowell turnover. The River Hawks did not trail for long, as the squad notched seven straight goals to post their biggest lead in program history, 7-1. UMass Lowell gained the 2-1 lead with 19:11 to play in the first half, never losing sight of it.
The River Hawks 7-0 run came over a 13-minute span and saw four different goal scorers, including a hat trick by Keith. Keith and freshman midfielder
Kelly Moran (Newfields, N.H.) tallied the first four goals for the team with three coming off of free position shots. Freshman midfielder
Kendyl Finelli (Southborough, Mass.) picked up the fifth goal for the home team, while sophomore
Jenn Guen (Baintree, Mass.) netted the sixth goal of the run for her first of the season.
Siena out scored the River Hawks, 3-2, in the last seven minutes of the first half, but the home team's strong start gave them an 8-3 lead at the end of the half.
The Saints tacked one on quickly to start the second half, after Lauren Smith converted a free position shot. After eight minutes of scoreless action, Moran and Finelli each found the back of the net to increase the lead, 10-5, as Moran posted her second hat trick of the season.
With 13:08 junior midfielder Kristy Roberston (Kingston, N.H.) made the most of her free position opportunity, giving the home squad a steady 11-5 advantage. Siena kept it interesting, scoring three consecutive goals and cutting the advantage to 11-8 with a little over three minutes left in regulation. Freshman attacker
Jane Dudley would eventually round out the scoring for the River Hawks with 1:14 to play, giving the team their final 12-8 lead of the game.
With 34 seconds on the clock, Barrett recorded her last save of the contest before passing it off to one of her teammates, on the way to UMass Lowell's first program win.
UMass Lowell's defense had a strong outing, holding Siena to only eight goals, one off of a program-low seven goals, which came in 2015.
Wednesday's contest marked the second meeting between the River Hawks and the Saints in the sport of lacrosse, as the all-time series now sits at 1-1. UMass Lowell is back in action on Sunday, March 6 as the squad is set to host Sacred Heart in a 1 p.m. tilt.
