LOWELL, Mass. – Despite leading by one heading into the final 12 minutes of the game, the UMass Lowell women's lacrosse team (3-7, 0-1 AE) was defeated 16-10 by UAlbany (5-4, 1-0 AE) on Saturday afternoon at Wicked Blue Field.

Kendyl Finelli (Southborough, Mass.) scored her 110^th career point in the process and became the all-time leading scorer at UMass Lowell, now with 111.
 
"I am, first and foremost, extremely proud of my team," said Head Coach Carissa Medeiros. "We've had a few ups and downs this season. We're trying to find out who we are, and we came into this game saying, 'Whatever we've done up to this point—good, bad or indifferent—it doesn't matter because this is the part of the season that matters, and we want to come out on our home field, have some pride, and also make a statement in the conference that we are actually here, we're going to be competitive this year.' And despite the score at the end of the game, we absolutely proved that today—no question."
 
The River Hawks withstood UAlbany's high-powered offense for much of the game. The Great Danes scored first, but Samantha Blair (West Islip, N.Y.) answered back with a free position goal a minute later. UAlbany rattled off four-straight goals after that, but the River Hawks stood strong, responding with four of their own with two goals by Kristina Keith (East Kingston, N.H.), another from Blair, and one from Finelli as she moved into first place in the UMass Lowell record books.
 
The Great Danes scored one more goal as time wound down in the first half, and they went into halftime with a 6-5 lead against the River Hawks.
 
Cameron McKelvin (Westminster, Md.) made her way onto the scoreboard first in the second half, but the Great Danes went on another run, scoring three straight.
 
Once again, UMass Lowell did not back down, tallying four in a row — two from McKelvin, who notched a hat trick, and two from Paige MacEachern (Lynnfield, Mass.). McKelvin's third goal at 12:33 propelled the River Hawks to a 10-9 lead, their first advantage of the game.
 
The visiting team took control from then on, though, and scored seven in a row to close out the game, 16-10.
 
UAlbany's Hailey Carroll scored six of the team's 16 goals, but the River Hawks were able to hold the Great Danes' leading goal scorer Kyla Zapolski to just two goals. Renee Gonzalez (Long Valley, N.J.) made 13 saves, tying a season high. Hana Caster (North Attleboro, Mass.) and Kelly Moran (Exeter, N.H.) each had five draw controls.
 
The River Hawks are now averaging 10.9 goals per game in 2019, led by MacEachern with 25 and McKelvin with 24. The team capitalized on free position opportunities against UAlbany, with half of its goals coming from free position.
 
Next week, the River Hawks head to Stony Brook for a 1 p.m. matchup at LaValle Stadium.