LOWELL, Mass. – Sophomore Alex Lafreniere (Chelmsford, Mass.) tallied three goals and an assist, as the UMass Lowell men's lacrosse team (0-1) fell to the Quinnipiac Bobcats (1-0), 15-12, in the team's season opener.

"Credit to Quinnipiac," said Head Coach Drew Kelleher. "They're a really good team and really well-coached and have some really good pieces. I think they're going to do some big things in the MAAC. I thought we played really well in stretches, and I think we got to learn how to win close games, and hopefully today was a good start to that."

Lafreniere, who added two ground balls on the afternoon, was one of seven River Hawks to score a goal. Sophomore Danny Burke (Eden Prairie, Minn.) also finished with three goals and an assist, while junior Johnny Soi (Kerhonkson, N.Y.) added two goals, and freshman Ryan Proctor (Uxbridge, Ontario) tallied his first career goal and assist. Junior Ryan Cho (Acton, Mass.) and sophomores Griffin Sumwalt (Aquebogue, N.Y.) and Brady Brennan (Newington, Ct.) all added a goal, while redshirt sophomore James Donnelly (Ottawa, Ontario) and sophomore Braden McMahon (Vestal, N.Y.) rounded out the point scorers with two assists and one assist, respectively. In net, junior Scott Kosakowski (Westport, Ct.) made 10 saves in 60 minutes of action.

Although the Bobcats opened the game with four goals in the opening ten minutes, the River Hawks responded with haste, as Proctor tallied the first goal of his career with 4:48 on the clock to cut the deficit to three. Quinnipiac fired back, scoring with nine seconds left in the quarter, but that proved to be more than enough time for UMass Lowell, as Burke raced down the field, ripping a shot past the keeper to make it a 5-2 game after one.

The hosts hit their stride offensively at the start of the second quarter, as Lafreniere found the back of the net three minutes in to pull his squad within two. After a Quinnipiac goal once again made it a three-goal difference, the River Hawks fired right back, scoring two goals in 30 seconds off the sticks of Sumwalt and Brennan to make it 6-5 with 8:21 remaining. The visitors locked in, though, using a 3-0 stretch to take a 9-5 lead into the break.

Coming out of halftime, the River Hawks caught fire on both ends of the field, holding the opposition scoreless for nearly 10 minutes of action. Meanwhile, on the offensive end, Soi scored with 14:02 on the clock, kickstarting a 4-0 run for his squad, with Burke, Lafreniere, and Cho all adding a goal to even the score at 9-9. The Bobcats, however, added one with 5:16 to go to take a 10-9 lead into the fourth.

UMass Lowell opened the scoring in the final quarter, as Lafreniere struck just under two minutes to knot up the score. Quinnipiac answered with a string of three straight, and despite Soi and Burke each adding a goal in the final six minutes, Quinnipiac added two more, sealing the 15-12 decision.

Next up, the River Hawks visit Mercyhurst on Saturday, February 14. Opening draw is scheduled for 12 p.m. in Erie, Pa.