LOWELL, Mass.—A comeback effort led by a hat trick from junior Conor Foley (Walpole, Mass.) fell short as the UMass Lowell men's lacrosse team (0-3) dropped a 14-10 home battle with Siena (1-3) Sunday afternoon at Cushing Field.  
 
"In games like that, when you do get the ball on offense, we're taking the first look instead of being a little more patient. We've got to learn from that," remarked Head Coach Ed Stephenson. "I thought we worked our way back into it. [We] had some good opportunities all throughout the late third and fourth to get some more momentum going and really close that score down. I give [Siena] credit though, they were able to make some good saves."
 
On top of his three goals, Foley dished out an assist to finish the day with a team-best four points. Junior Brian Wiles (Longmeadow, Mass.) sat just behind Foley in the score column with three goals off a career-best two goals and one assist. In total, five other River Hawks logged goals against the Saints: graduate students Kyle Laforge (Tyngsboro, Mass.) and Domenic Giachello (Somers, Mass.), senior Dakota Clark, junior Nick Harvath (Whitmore Lakes, Mich.) and freshman Khairi Sears (Columbus, Ohio). Sears' second-quarter tally marked a career first for the rookie attackman.
 
Sophomore Anthony Mancino (Holbrook, N.Y.) made his season debut for the River Hawks, matching his career-high in saves with 14 against the Saints. Leading the defense in front of the cage, freshman Ryan Quinlan (Mattapoisett, Mass.) and senior Eric Flynn (Bedford, N.H.) tied for a team-high three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
 
"I thought Anthony played great in goal today. That was his first start, and I thought he played really well," said Stephenson. "He made a lot of saves today, so I was pleased with that."
 
Wiles opened scoring for UMass Lowell with a goal just 1:07 into play off the look from Foley. A three-goal uncontested streak by Siena across the remainder of the period sent the River Hawks into the second frame fighting off a two-goal deficit.
 
The Saints picked up where they left off with their fourth of the day under a minute into the second quarter to push out to a three-goal advantage. Back-to-back goals from Giachello and Foley crept the team back within one, but the margin was short-lived as Siena tallied another three to claim the 7-3 lead with 6:03 left in the first half.
 
A career-first goal from Sears at 3:32 temporarily halted the Saints' forward momentum, but the visitors knocked in another three to close out the first half with the 10-4 margin over the River Hawks.
 
Trading blows throughout the third, the teams were evenly matched with two goals apiece to keep the score at a six-goal differential heading into the final 15. The Saints spared no time adding another to their total at the start of the fourth, but the River Hawks quickly battled back with an offensive push. Back-to-back goals off the faceoff from Foley moved UMass Lowell within five seconds to spark the late-game comeback attempt. Although Clark and Laforge added another two to the scoreboard in the final minutes of action, one last Siena goal sealed the 14-10 loss for the River Hawks at home.
 
UMass Lowell travels to crosstown rivals Merrimack next Saturday, March 5, for a 5 p.m. battle at Duane Stadium.