ALBANY, N.Y.—A four-goal third quarter was not enough to lift the UMass Lowell men's lacrosse team (0-6, 0-1 America East) past the UAlbany Great Danes (2-4, 1-0 America East), falling 15-7 to open the conference slate Saturday afternoon at Bob Ford field.
 
Senior Nick Harvath (Whitmore Lake, Mich.) and freshman Ben Roberts (Tenafly, N.J.) led the crew with three points each. Harvath struck twine twice and logged an assist, while Roberts' matched his season best with one goal and two helpers. Graduate student Sean Parker (Flemington, N.J.) added a pair of tallies to register his seventh and eighth goals of the year. Closing out the scoring column, sophomores Khairi Sears (Columbus, Ohio) and Riley Lawhorn (Amherst, N.H.) tacked on a goal each. With his third-period point, Lawhorn extended his scoring streak to five-straight games.
 
Freshman Luke Renaud (Skaneateles, N.Y.) saw his sixth start in the cage, making 18 saves to match his season high.
 
"Credit to UAlbany on a great effort today. They've played some of the best teams in the country, and I think their pace caught us early," commented Head Coach Drew Kelleher. "We had a great week of practice, and I think we have a lot to build on going into Bryant."
 
An evenly-matched start to the first quarter kept the squads locked at 2-2 after six minutes of play. The Great Danes sparked their offense early with a pair of goals, but Harvath and Parker knocked in back-to-back shots to cut the deficit. A four-goal tear from UAlbany to cap the first, however, sent the River Hawks chasing the lead as they transitioned to the second frame.
 
The Great Danes stayed steady up high, jumping out to a 9-2 advantage with another three-goal stretch in the second. Roberts stifled UAlbany's seven-goal run with his first with 2:41 left in the opening frame, but one last push from the Great Danes awarded them the 10-3 lead at the end of 30 minutes.
 
Getting a respite at the half, the River Hawks returned reenergized as they launched into a comeback effort. In their most productive quarter of the day, four goals from four different scorers crept the River Hawks back in reach, with just a six-goal margin to overcome in the final 15.
 
A defensive fourth on both sides of the field kept scoring low in the fourth as UAlbany secured their 15-7 victory with a final set of goals.
 
The River Hawks bring the action back home next Saturday, March 25, for a home tilt with Bryant at 6 p.m.