LOWELL, Mass. – Thanks to a record-breaking game by senior captain Kristina Keith (East Kingston, N.H.), the UMass Lowell women's lacrosse team (1-4) earned its first win of the season with a 15-5 victory against Holy Cross on Wednesday afternoon at Wicked Blue Field.
 
Keith scored a program-high seven goals, while both Cameron McKelvin (Westminster, Md.) and Paige MacEachern (Lynnfield, Mass.) tallied hat tricks in the 10-point win. Keith and MacEachern are now tied for first on the team in goals with 15 apiece this season.
 
"We're really proud of our team," said Head Coach Carissa Medeiros. "I think we worked really hard over the last couple of practices to fix some things that we just couldn't quite figure out over the first four games. We just weren't quite playing as a full 12-person unit. We'd have some great offensive moments then some great defensive moments, and they weren't really jiving and connecting and syncing up…I just think our team was finally ready to walk the walk instead of just talking the talk."
 
UMass Lowell opened the game on a tear, with Keith notching the first two goals of the game, with the initial goal coming just 37 seconds in. Holy Cross looked to be taking control over the next five minutes, though, scoring three unanswered goals. The River Hawks were unfazed, however, and fired off four-straight goals of their own — two from McKelvin and one from Keith and MacEachern.
 
Holy Cross tallied one more goal in the first half, but the River Hawks went into halftime with a 6-4 lead.
 
Once again, Keith opened up scoring in the second half, then Jane Dudley (Duxbury, Mass.) scored an unassisted, man-up goal five minutes into the half.
 
After the Crusaders scored one more goal at 19:41, the River Hawks never looked back, rattling off seven-straight goals — three from Keith, two from MacEachern, and one from McKelvin and Samantha Blair (West Islip, N.Y.). Keith's record-breaking seventh goal came with just over four minutes left in the game, as she drove in and went five-hole, adding her name to the UMass Lowell record books.
 
On the defensive end, Renee Gonzalez (Long Valley, N.J.) stood tough in net, earning a season-high 11 saves and allowing just five goals — the fewest goals in her career while playing the full 60 minutes. Nine different players had caused turnovers in the game, while Hana Caster (North Attleboro, Mass.), Kelly Moran (Exeter, N.H.) and Kristi King (Severn, Md.) each tallied four ground balls.
 
The River Hawks' 15 goals mark the most in a game since their April 17, 2018 game against Hartford. It is just the third time in program history that they scored at least 15 goals.
 
UMass Lowell outshot Holy Cross 27-20, including 24-16 in shots on goal as the Raiders fell to 1-3 on the season.
 
The River Hawks look to ride their momentum as they remain at home for a weekend afternoon game against Iona on Saturday at 1 p.m.