BURLINGTON, VT. – Freshman Danny Burke (Eden Prairie, Minn.) tallied a team-high three points, as the UMass Lowell men's lacrosse team (4-8, 1-4 AE) fell to the Vermont Catamounts (5-6, 3-2 AE), 17-9, on Saturday afternoon.

"Credit to Vermont and their staff for winning that battle," said Head Coach Drew Kelleher. "Our guys played their hearts out and competed, and ultimately came up a few plays short."

Burke, who finished with a goal and two assists, was one of nine River Hawks to record a point. Right behind him, graduate student Garrett Murphy (Billerica, Mass.) added two goals, while senior Riley Lawhorn (Amherst, N.H.), sophomore Johnny Soi (Kerhonkson, N.Y.), and freshman Alex Lafreniere (Chelmsford, Mass.) each tallied a goal and an assist. Also finding the back of the net were sophomores Colby Frigon (Providence, R.I.) and Ryan Cho (Acton, Mass.), and freshman Griffin Sumwalt (Aquebogue, N.Y.), who all tallied a goal. Rounding things out, sophomore James Donnelly (Ottawa, Ontario) added an assist. In net, freshman AJ True (Manchester, N.H.) made a career-high 18 saves in the start.

It didn't take long for the River Hawks to open the scoring, as Lafreniere ripped a shot past the keeper at 13:48 to give his squad a 1-0 lead. The scoring didn't stop there for UMass Lowell, as Murphy added one just over a minute later, quickly followed by a goal from Burke to make it 3-0 with just under 11 minutes on the clock. Meanwhile, the visitor's defense was exceptional, not allowing a goal until 4:51, cutting the lead to 3-1. In the final seconds of the quarter, the Catamounts added one more to make it a one-score game heading into the second.

Looking to build off a strong first quarter, the River Hawks went straight to work in the second quarter, tallying the first goal of the period, this time off the sick of Frigon, to extend the lead to 4-2. Vermont responded with a vengeance though, adding a score two minutes later, and although Cho tallied his second goal of the season at the 7:44 mark, the hosts strung together three straight to take their first lead of the day, 6-5. Moments later the River Hawks knotted the score up thanks to a goal from Lawhorn, but the Catamounts added one more in the final minute to take a 7-6 advantage into halftime.

Coming out of the break, Soi was quick to find the equalizer, dashing past his defender before ripping a shot into the top right corner. With the score at 7-7, both sides focused on defense, with neither side adding another tally for almost six minutes. Vermont finally ended the scoreless stretch, scoring twice in just over 30 seconds. The River Hawks answered with two of their own, as Murphy added his second and Sumwalt his first, to once again even the score, this time at 9-9, but a goal with six seconds remaining gave the hosts a one-score lead heading into the final 15 minutes.

In the fourth quarter, Vermont added seven goals, sealing the 17-9 decision.

Next up, the River Hawks return home for the final time this season, hosting Bryant on Senior Day on Saturday, April 26. The opening faceoff is scheduled for noon at Cushing Field.