LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore
Kaitlin Tobin (Southold, N.Y.) recorded her first career hat trick, but the UMass Lowell women's lacrosse team (2-9, 0-3 AE) fell to the UMBC Retrievers (7-4, 1-0 AE), 12-11, on Saturday afternoon at Cushing Field.
"It was our best game of the season to date," said head coach
Lisa Miller. "We were organized, smart and tough. Proud of our effort and the way we played together."
Alongside Tobin, juniors
Izzy Liquori (Agawam, Mass.),
Abby McLaughlin (Walpole, Mass.) and
Grace Hansen (Stamford, Conn.) all tallied two goals, with McLaughlin adding in two assists. On defense, freshman
Daia Hansford (Bowie, Md.) caused two turnovers, and graduate student
Alex Salim (East Islip, N.Y.) recorded 14 saves in net.
UMBC was quick to get on the board, tallying a goal 30 seconds in to take a 1-0 lead. However, the River Hawks would strike back when Hansen and Liquori each scored a goal in under a minute to take the lead midway through the first. This back-and-forth battle would continue, with the Retrievers scoring three of the next five goals, locking the game up at 4-4 after one quarter.
After UMBC scored an early goal in the second, Tobin and McLaughlin were both able to find the back of the net to regain the lead for UMass Lowell with just under nine minutes to play in the half. Once again, UMBC would tie the game up, but with six minutes remaining in the second Liquori tallied a free-position goal, giving the River Hawks a 7-6 lead that would hold until the break.
Just over two minutes into the third, sophomore
Megan Brockbank (Bayport, N.Y.) found her first goal of the game, extending the River Hawks lead to two, the largest lead of the game. UMBC retaliated with three straight goals, the longest scoring run for either team, to take the 9-8 lead with nine minutes remaining in the quarter. A few minutes later, McLaughlin recorded her second goal, this time a free-position shot, to tie the game at nine heading into the final quarter.
Over the first ten minutes of the fourth quarter, UMBC and UMass Lowell would exchange two goals each, with Tobin tallying her career high third goal, and junior
Molly Shaw (Marshfield, Mass.) scoring her 21st goal of the season. With the game knotted at 11-11, both teams locked down on defense, not allowing a goal over the next four minutes. However, with 15 seconds left in the game, the Retrievers found an open look and grabbed the lead for the final time.
Next up for the River Hawks, they will take on Bryant at the Bryant Track and Turf Complex on Wednesday, April 6, at 7 p.m.
