AMHERST, Mass.—Despite a hat trick from sophomore Jake Davis (Franklin, Mass.), the UMass Lowell men's lacrosse team dropped a tough 19-9 battle with in-state rival Massachusetts (1-1) Saturday afternoon at Garber Field.
 
The three-goal outing marked the third of Davis' career and his second of the season. Backing up Davis' three goals, graduate student Domenic Giachello (Somers, Conn.) and junior Conor Foley (Walpole, Mass.) knocked in a pair of goals to continue their scoring streak, and senior Dakota Clark (Bedford, N.H.) added one in the outing. Finding the back of the cage for the first time in his career, sophomore Christian Moss (Upton, Mass.) registered his first collegiate goal and point in the outing against the Minutemen.
 
Graduate student Paul Macrina (Wrentham, Mass.) and freshman Calvin Desmarais (Dracut, Mass.) split time in the cage once again for the River Hawks. Both goalies registered career-highs in saves with Macrina stopping nine and Desmarais saving seven.
 
"We started out great. We went up two nothing, and we won the first two faceoffs. The rest of the quarter though, we couldn't get the ball down towards the goal," remarked Head Coach Ed Stephenson. "Being down by five going into the second, we got a little impetuous with the ball, and we made some hasty decisions, which contributed to not being able to get back into the rhythm."
 
UMass Lowell came out hot, scoring off the opening faceoff just 35 seconds into play off a shot from Giachello. The River Hawks kept their early momentum going with another goal just minutes later. A turnover by the Minutemen put possession back in favor of the River Hawks as they settled the ball down in the UMass zone.
 
After shots from Foley and Giachello failed to connect, Davis fired one in to gain the 2-0 lead.
 
A seven-goal run by the Minutemen shifted the River Hawks' focus to defense as they fought to stifle the home squad's scoring run. UMass Lowell temporarily ended their scoring drought after a turnover by UMass' John Krisch put the ball into the stick of Moss, who brought the River Hawks back within four with 1:26 left in the first.
 
UMass retaliated with one last shot with just two seconds left in the quarter to send the River Hawks into the second down by five.
 
Keeping a slight edge on faceoffs in the second frame, UMass Lowell held the Minutemen to just three goals in the 15-minute block. The River Hawks' sole goal of the second came off a faceoff win by senior Liam McDonough (Groton, Mass.), who scooped the groundball and fed it to Davis for his second of the day.
 
Going back and forth for the final five minutes of the first half, the team's held steady at an 11-4 score in favor of the home team heading into the half.
 
"I thought we did a better job in the second winning faceoffs. But, in the first quarter and second quarter, some of our decision making and discipline was not as good as it needed to be, and it set us behind," commented Stephenson.
 
The River Hawks opened the half with a goal off the opening faceoff win once again as Giachello knocked one in just under a minute into the third. A quick four-goal uncontested streak by the Minutemen held back the UMass Lowell comeback efforts through the remainder of the third until a man-up chance allowed Foley to strike off the helper from junior Nick Harvath (Whitmore Lake, Mich.) to make it 15-6 with 1:21 left in the quarter. An unfortunate turnover off a River Hawks' faceoff win allowed UMass to add another to their score to force the River Hawks to enter the final 15 down by 10.
 
Three UMass Lowell goals in the fourth from Clark, Foley and Davis kept the team in the mix, but the Minutemen maintained the 10-goal lead to send the River Hawks home with the 19-9 loss.
 
The team returns to Cushing Field on Saturday, Feb. 26, to host Siena for a 1 p.m. faceoff.