LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore Colby Frigon (Providence, R.I.) tallied a four-point day, as the UMass Lowell men's lacrosse team (4-7, 1-3 AE) earned their first conference win of the season, taking down the NJIT Highlanders (1-9, 0-4 AE), 10-8, on Saturday evening.
With the win, the River Hawks now total the most wins in a season for the program since the 2019 season.
"Really happy to come out of there with a win," said Head Coach
Drew Kelleher. "I think its been an interesting stretch for us and I'm proud of the adversity we've overcome, and I think our guys are still chopping and that's all we can ask. Really proud of a complete team win tonight."
Frigon, who was one of eight River Hawks to record a point, led the team with three goals while adding an assist. Behind him, senior Riley Lawhorn (Amherst, N.H.) led the squad with two assists as part of a three-point day, while sophomore Johnny Soi (Kerhonkson, N.Y.) added two goals and an assist. Freshman Danny Burke (Eden Prairie, Minn.) chipped in with a goal and an assist, while graduate student Garrett Murphy (Billerica, Mass.), sophomore James Donnelly (Ottawa, Ontario), and freshman Griffin Sumwalt (Aquebogue, N.Y.) all added a goal. Rounding things out, sophomore Josh Adey (Victoria, B.C.) added an assist for the first point of his career. In net, freshman AJ True (Manchester, N.H.) made 12 saves in the win.
After NJIT scored the first goal of the day just over a minute in, the River Hawks responded with a vengeance, scoring two goals off the sticks of Soi and Frigon only 20 seconds apart to take an early 2-1 lead. Continuing to put the pressure on the Highlanders' defense, Donnelly added his first goal at the 9:35 mark, followed minutes later by a goal from Murphy and Soi's second of the day. Meanwhile, the hosts dominated on the defensive end, not allowing another goal until the 1:19 mark, giving UMass Lowell a 5-2 lead after one quarter.
In the second, Frigon went straight to work, adding his second goal of the day only 56 seconds into the period, extending the team's lead to 6-2. The visitors countered with a goal just over a minute later, but a goal by Burke at the 11:24 mark put the River Hawks back in front by two. Following the goal, both sides locked down defensively, as UMass Lowell allowed only one a remainder of the way, while Sumwalt added the lone River Hawks' goal with 54 seconds to play, sending his team into halftime up 8-4.
Coming out of the break, both sides put their focus on the defensive end, as neither side registered a goal for over ten minutes of action, thanks in part to a trio of saves by True early in the quarter. With less than four minutes to play, the River Hawks finally broke the scoring drought, using Frigon's third goal of the afternoon to take their largest lead of the day, 9-4. The Highlanders, however, answered only seconds later, cutting the UMass Lowell advantage to 9-5 heading into the final quarter.
Looking to make a comeback, NJIT tallied the first two goals of the quarter at 14:36 and 11:44 to cut the River Hawks' lead to two. The hosts refused to let the score get any closer though, playing lights-out defense nearly the rest of the way before Lawhorn struck with just over a minute to play. The Highlanders added one in the last 20 seconds but were unable to pull any closer, sealing the 10-8 decision.
Next up, the River Hawks hit the road, traveling north for a match with the Vermont Catamounts on Saturday, April 19. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Virtue Field.
