LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Molly Shaw (Marshfield, Mass.) scored in the final seconds, lifting the UMass Lowell women's lacrosse team (1-2, 0-0 AE) over the Marist Red Foxes (0-1, 0-0 MAAC), 11-10, in a thriller at Cushing Field on Sunday afternoon.
 
Shaw recorded a team-high four goals, including her gamewinner, while redshirt freshman Emily Stratton (Camillus, N.Y.) followed up with three goals of her own. Defensively, sophomore Jillian Schumacher (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) recorded five saves in net to help restrict the Red Foxes' offense.
 
"At halftime, we were outshooting them 21-10, so I felt that if the shots started to fall, we would catch up and pull ahead," said head coach Lisa Miller. "We pulled ahead at the very end, what can I say, we like to keep the fans in the stands," she joked about the game winner.
 
From the opening draw, both teams created heavy amounts of pressure on defense that resulted in a scoreless game for nearly six minutes. With nine minutes left in the first quarter, Marist began to find momentum as they scored three goals over a two-minute period to jump in front 3-0.
 
Stratton got the River Hawks offense going as she caught a pass from junior Grace Hansen (Stamford, Conn.) and fired a shot passed the keeper, cutting the Marist lead to 3-1 with just over two minutes remaining in the first.
 
The River Hawks and Red Foxes continued exchanging shots, but neither team could get back on the scoreboard. Stratton then found the back of the net for a second time, pulling the River Hawks within one. Marist then began to break away, tallying the next three goals and giving themselves a 6-2 lead.
 
With less than 30 seconds remaining in the half, Shaw scored her first goal of the game off the assist from sophomore Megan Brockbank (Bayport, N.Y.), making it a 6-3 Marist lead, and giving the River Hawks momentum heading into the half.
 
Coming out of the half, the River Hawks found their stride as junior Layton Nass (Manhasset, N.Y.), Brockbank, and Shaw combined for four of the game's next five goals, knotting the game up at seven. A goal late in the quarter would give the Red Foxes an 8-7 lead heading into the final period.
 
Only minutes into the quarter, Marist scored again, putting themselves ahead 9-7 with 12:33 remaining. However, the River Hawks struck right back, as Hansen scored her first goal of the season, once again making it a one goal game, this time with only 10 minutes remaining.
 
With under four minutes to play, Stratton recorded her third goal of the game, and then shortly after made a quick throw to Nass who fired a shot into the net, giving the River Hawks a 10-9 lead late in the game. Marist tied the game up with 23 seconds left before Shaw's game winner, which came with just two seconds left on the clock.
 
Next up for the River Hawks, they will begin their five-game road trip as they travel to Connecticut to take on the UConn Huskies, on Friday, February 25 at 3 PM.