LOUDONVILLE, N.Y.—The UMass Lowell men's lacrosse team (0-3) battled to a tough 16-12 loss to Siena (2-1) Sunday morning in an offensive showdown on a frosty Hickey Field. 
 
Senior Nick Harvath (Whitmore Lake, Mich.) put up a team-best four points in his season debut with two goals and two assists. Freshman Ben Roberts (Tenafly, N.J.) and junior Garrett Murphy (Billerica, Mass.) registered three points each against the Saints. Roberts hit three points with a goal and a pair of helpers for a season-best, while Murphy continued his stand atop the River Hawks' scoreboard with two goals and an assist.
 
Graduate student Sean Parker (Flemington, N.J.) and junior Jake Davis (Franklin, Mass.) added two tallies each to join Harvath and Roberts with multigoal games. Sophomores Riley Lawhorn (Amherst, N.H.) and Khairi Sears (Columbus, Ohio) and freshman Devin German (Acton, Mass.) hit twine to combine for three goals towards UMass Lowell's total. German's third-quarter grab-and-go goal marked the first of his collegiate career.
 
Freshman Luke Renaud (Skaneateles, N.Y.) led the defense with his third straight start. The rookie goalie stopped 13 saves and scooped up a team-high three ground balls. Sophomores Ryan Quinlan (Mattapoisett, Mass.) and Alexander Chairs (Ellicott City, Md.) each finished with a caused turnover and combined for three ground ball pickups.
 
"I'm proud of the progress our team is making, on and off the field. Today was an important step forward in understanding how hard winning is in Division I lacrosse," commented Head Coach Drew Kelleher. "Our staff and players will continue to work as hard as we can to keep getting better."
 
The River Hawks opened up to a 2-0 lead just under four minutes after an offensive spark from Harvath at 12:56 got the team on the board. The senior kept the hot hand and kept the UMass Lowell momentum forward moving with a helper on Parker's first goal of the afternoon just over a minute and a half later. Siena retaliated with a three-goal run to take a slight edge over the River Hawks, but a snipe from Roberts ended the quarter locked at 3-3.
 
Siena kicked off the second quarter with another three-goal run which forced the River Hawks to chase the 6-3 deficit. Parker initiated the River Hawks' best run of the afternoon with 9:05 left in the first half to lead off what would be a four-goal unanswered streak. Murphy and Sears joined in on the scoring surge to add three to the scoreboard and sent UMass Lowell into the half with a one-goal advantage.
 
A defensive start to the third kept UMass Lowell up by one for nearly half of the quarter, but the Saints eventually leveled the score with 8:18 on the game clock. Earning the first of his career, German sprinted down the middle off the win at the X to push the River Hawks back in front, 8-7. Siena found their footing on attack, however, closing out the frame with five straight to lead 12-8 heading into the final 15.
 
Another three goals from the Saints grabbed them their largest lead of the afternoon, landing at a 16-9 margin with 13 minutes remaining. UMass Lowell reorganized and found the energy for a comeback effort with Lawhorn, Davis and Harvath sneaking in goals to chip away at the deficit, but came up just short to finish with the 16-12 loss.
The River Hawks return home to Cushing Field next Saturday, March 4, when they host Long Island at noon.