NEWARK, N.J. – Sophomore
Danny Burke (Eden Prairie, Minn.) tallied a team-high four points, as the UMass Lowell men's lacrosse team (2-8, 0-4 AE) nearly pulled off the second half comeback, but fell to the NJIT Highlanders (5-7, 2-2 AE), 10-8, on Saturday night.
"I'm proud of our resilience tonight in battling on the road," said Head Coach
Drew Kelleher. "Their goalie made some great saves late, but we've got to find a way to make the plays at the end."
Burke, who finished with two goals and two assists, was one of seven River Hawks to record a point in the contest. Freshman
Ryan Proctor (Uxbridge, Ontario) finished with three goals, his first career hat trick, while juniors
Colby Frigon (Providence, R.I.) and
Johnny Soi (Kerhonkson, N.Y.) each chipped in with a goal and an assist. Redshirt sophomore
James Donnelly (Ottawa, Ontario) rounded out the goal scorers with a goal, while junior
Maverick Chedel (Groveland, Mass.) and sophomore
Brady Brennan (Newington, Ct.) each added an assist. In net, junior
Scott Kosakowski (Westport, Ct.) made a career-high 17 saves in his second start of the season.
The River Hawks' defense came out strong, forcing a pair of turnovers while Kosakowski made three saves in the opening ten minutes to keep the Highlanders off the board. Meanwhile, the offense found an early scoring opportunity only seven minutes in when Frigon fired off a shot, but the opposing keeper made a save to keep the game scoreless. The two sides continued the defensive battle, with sophomore
Jack Jimenez (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) causing another turnover, to keep the game 0-0 heading into the second quarter.
In the second, the NJIT offense started to find its footing, scoring twice in the first three minutes to take a 2-0 lead. Although the UMass Lowell defense was up to the challenge, keeping the opposition from scoring for the next three minutes, the Highlanders battled, scoring three more goals to own a 5-0 lead heading into the break.
Coming out of halftime, the River Hawks' offense roared to life, as Frigon found Burke with 13:46 on the clock for the team's first goal of the night. Just over a minute later, the visitors struck again, this time with Donnelly finding the back of the net, cutting the deficit to 5-2. Although the opposition added a goal moments later, the UMass Lowell defense locked back in, preventing NJIT from scoring for over eight minutes, while Soi ripped a shot past the opposing keeper to make it 6-3. After a goal by the Highlanders made it 7-3 with 1:52 to play, an excellent save by Kosakowski set up a race down the field for the River Hawks, leading to a goal by Proctor with only nine seconds to play, once again making it a three-goal difference heading into the fourth.
Looking to pull off the comeback, the River Hawks used a 3-1 scoring run, highlighted by goals from Frigon, Burke, and Proctor, to make it a one-goal game, 8-7, with nine minutes to play. Although Proctor scored immediately after a Highlanders goal with 3:38 to play, the hosts added one more in the final minute, sealing the 10-8 decision.
Next up, the River Hawks return home for the final time in 2026 when they host the Vermont Catamounts on Senior Day on Saturday, April 18. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Cushing Field in Lowell, Massachusetts.
