LOWELL, Mass. – Junior Khairi Sears (Columbus, Ohio) recorded a goal and three assists for a four-point day, as the UMass Lowell men's lacrosse team (0-3) fell to the Siena Saints (1-2), 13-8, on Friday afternoon.
 
"Congrats to Siena," said Head Coach Drew Kelleher. "They're a good team. There's a reason they were preseason favorites in the MAAC. Certainly on offense, they have a lot of weapons, and they did a good job. I have a ton of respect for them. It was a good performance by them, and I know our guys will keep working."

Sears, who led the team in assists and points, also added a caused turnover. Behind him, freshman James Donnelly (Ottawa, Ontario) tallied a team-high two goals and an assist to finish with three points. Rounding the point-scorers, senior Garrett Murphy (Billerica, Mass.), junior Riley Lawhorn (Amherst, N.H.), sophomore Jackson Dean (Deer Park, Wash.), and freshmen Johnny Soi (Kerhonkson, N.Y.) and Colby Frigon (Providence, R.I.) all chipped in with a goal. Senior Jack Bird (Buffalo, N.Y.) had another strong performance at the X, winning 13 of 21 faceoff attempts, while graduate student Mark Pav (South Setauket, N.Y.) made nine saves in net.
 
The River Hawks started the scoring quickly as Soi fired off a goal just over two minutes in to put his squad up 1-0. The Saints countered immediately, scoring back-to-back goals before the 10-minute mark to jump in front, 2-1. Looking to stop the opposition, UMass Lowell locked down on defense while Frigon and Donnelly each buried shots into the back of the net to take a one-goal lead with 3:52 to play. However, the Saints added one more to knot the score up, 3-3, after one.
 
Much like the first quarter, UMass Lowell came out hot to start the second, as Sears dished a pass to Dean, who launched a shot past the keeper, putting his team back on top only four seconds in. The two teams focused on their defense, as both sides went scoreless for over five minutes of action. With 8:40 on the clock, the Saints ended the scoring drought, evening the score again. With momentum shifting in their favor, the visitors continued to attack, adding four more goals to own an 8-4 advantage heading into the break.
 
Coming out of the half, the Saints added one more to the board to extend their lead to five with just over 13 minutes to play. Despite the deficit, the River Hawks refused to back down, as Sears made a quick pass to Lawhorn before he ripped a shot past Siena's goalie to make it a four-goal difference. Although Siena countered by adding two more to their score, Donnelly snuck a quick shot into the net to make it an 11-6 game heading into the final quarter.

With eyes on making a comeback, the River Hawks defense pressed the Saints, setting up Donnelly, who forced a turnover and made a perfect pass to Murphy for his first goal of the afternoon. Sears added one of his own moments later, but the Saints refused to budge any further, adding two more to their total to seal the 13-8 decision.
 
Next up, the River Hawks will head to Long Island to take on the LIU Sharks on Saturday, March 2. Opening faceoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium.