BOSTON, Mass. — Paige MacEachern (Lynnfield, Mass.) tied a program record with six goals in a game, but the UMass Lowell women's lacrosse team fell to Boston University, 17-12, on Saturday afternoon at Nickerson Field.

"There were some glimmers of greatness sprinkled in with a number of poor decisions that forced us to chase the game down until the final minute," said Head Coach Carissa Medeiros. "We are working on being more consistent on both sides of the ball, and that is going to continue to be a focus for us moving into our next game."

The Terriers opened the game with two early goals in the first four minutes of the game, and MacEachern tallied a goal at 24:02, faking out a BU defender and scoring off of an assist by Kendyl Finelli (Southborough, Mass.).

BU responded with two goals to extend the lead, but MacEachern once again answered back, this time with an assist from Cameron McKelvin (Westminster, Md.) at 18:38. The River Hawks kept the momentum going with a bounce-shot goal by Kristina Keith (East Kingston, N.H.), assisted by McKelvin, her second assist of the game.

Renee Gonzalez (Long Valley, N.J.) had a big save at 13 minutes on a shot by BU, keeping the game close, but the Terriers scored four straight goals and held an 8-3 lead heading into the final 10 minutes of the first half. 

MacEachern's hat trick came at 4:50 in the first half, but the Terriers closed the half on a run and led 10-4 at halftime.

The River Hawks made an offensive push in the second half, outscoring the Terriers 8-7. Jane Dudley (Duxbury, Mass.) scored her first goal of the season just 37 seconds into the half, while MacEachern scored her fourth goal of the game at 21:02, then her fifth at 14:58, assisted by Finelli.

Heading into the final 10 minutes of the game trailing 16-7, the River Hawks were able to put a few goals on the board to tighten the margin, thanks to Finelli, MacEachern, Dudley, and McKelvin. Despite going on a 5-1 run to close the game, the River Hawks fell in a 17-12 decision.

Now with 10 goals on the season, MacEachern has already surpassed her 2018 goal total in just three games in 2019. With her first goal, Finelli notched her 100th career point, finishing with three points. McKelvin had a hand in much of the River Hawks' scoring with a goal and four assists. Olivia Massena earned her first career assist in the game, while Keith had her first assist of the season. Gonzalez had a season-high nine saves with a .346 save percentage.

The River Hawks won the ground ball battle with 20 to BU's 19, but BU led in shots, 38-20.

Next week, UMass Lowell will play at home for the first time in 2019, facing Colgate on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 11 a.m.