LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore
Chiara Pompei (Catonsville, Md.) scored twice, as the UMass Lowell women's lacrosse team (2-1) battled but ultimately fell to the #15 Yale Bulldogs (1-0), 14-4, on Saturday afternoon.
"Statistically, the game was fairly even," said Head Coach
Lisa Miller. "We stayed in structure, which will pay off down the road. Yale's zone was very good and two steps faster and longer than what we've been seeing. We were trying to stretch the shot clock, manage possessions, and work for good opportunities. I thought we were patient and under control. Now we need to work on generating more feeds from behind and shots. We are building on the small things. Looking forward to a good week of practice before going to Philadelphia."
Pompei, who has now scored two goals in back-to-back games, was tied with junior
Chloe Bowers (Whitefish Bay, Wis.), who also tallied two scores. Also recording a point in the match, junior
Bronwyn Hilbert (Lancaster, Pa.) and freshman
Ada Krupa (East Irondequoit, N.Y.) both added an assist. In net, junior
Alexa Kuhn (Rocky Point, N.Y.) made six saves.
Although the Bulldogs recorded the first three goals of the game in the first ten minutes, the River Hawks refused to budge, locking down defensively and preventing the opposition from finding the back of the net again for the remainder of the period. Meanwhile, the offense began to hit its stride as Hilbert found Pompei, who promptly fired her shot past the keeper, cutting the deficit to 3-1 with 2:58 to go. Just over a minute later, Bowers, who was awarded a free position, capitalized on the opportunity, ripping the shot into the goal, pulling her team within one heading into the second quarter.
After two goals by the visitors made it a 5-2 game, Bowers struck again, this time in a woman-up situation, to get the River Hawks back on the board. The opposition locked down defensively, though, not allowing a goal the remainder of the quarter while adding three more to take an 8-3 advantage into the break.
Coming out of halftime, the River Hawks put together a strong defensive showing, as they held Yale to only one goal for well over eight minutes of action. In that same stretch, Pompei recorded her second goal of the game, but three-straight tallies by the Bulldogs to end the third made it a 12-4 game with 15 minutes to play.
In the final 15 minutes, the River Hawks looked to find a way to pull off a comeback, but two more goals by the visitors sealed the 14-4 decision.
Next up, the River Hawks hit the road for the first time this season when they visit Temple on Saturday, February 21. Opening draw is scheduled for 12 p.m. at Howarth Field in Philadelphia, Pa.
