There’s nothing like a 12-goal game to snap out of a losing streak.

That’s exactly what the Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team got yesterday, using three goals from freshman Matt Tundo to beat Sacred Heart, 12-4, at Garber Field.

It was the Minutemen’s first win in four games. Their last victory came on March 6 at Stony Brook, and they improve to 3-4 on the season. Sacred Heart drops to 0-6.

The win came at just the right time for the Minutemen, who were reeling after a trio of losses, including a 10-5 defeat at the hands of Brown Saturday. It was also the first time the Minutemen scored more than 11 goals since their 13-7 win over Hartford on March 2.

“It’s a big win, right now any win is big for us confidence-wise,” UMass coach Greg Cannella said. “We talked a lot the last few days about playing together as a team, doing this as a team, having the same want and the same heart. The guys did a good job today.”

Matt Tundo’s three goals led the Minutemen, who were also helped by four assists from junior Gene Tundo. The Tundo brothers combined for seven points on the day, and connected for UMass’ fourth goal, with 1:39 to go in the first quarter. Gene Tundo worked behind the net, with Matt trying to get free in front. He finally did, and Gene found him for a quick-stick shot that beat SHU goaltender Thomas Hind for the fourth of five unanswered goals the Minutemen scored to start the game.

“If we’re going to be successful, our attack has to be successful,” Cannella said. “Gene and Matt have been playing together all their lives, and it’s great to see those guys connect in the game. Gene has been solid for us, and Matt as a freshman has scored a lot of goals for us, he’s been very consistent.”

UMass took off on a six-goal tear to begin the contest, and didn’t allow a Pioneer goal until just past the six-minute mark in the second quarter. Ben Giamichael’s sixth goal of the season started a 4-0 run by the Pioneers, but it was quickly snuffed out by the Minutemen. Included in UMass’ initial run was the game-winner, a hard shot from Neil Lundberg that was set up by a strong possession from Gene Tundo, who took the Sacred Heart defense for a ride behind the net before feeding Lundberg in front.

Freshman Brett Garber scored his second goal of the season with just 30 seconds left to swing momentum back toward UMass.

“I said that at halftime, that was a big goal for us,” Cannella said. “That was huge, and that’s something that helped us carry momentum into the third quarter.”

It was Garber’s first goal on the field named for his grandfather, legendary UMass coach Dick Garber. The freshman from Avon, Conn. scored his first collegiate goal against North Carolina in Baltimore on Feb. 28.

Other than the four-goal spurt from the Pioneers, the game was a strong contrast to the other six games the Minutemen have played this season. There was very little time when UMass didn’t have full control of the game, and the attack in particular was much more composed. The Minutemen entered the game averaging nearly 42 shots, but took 38 against the Pioneers. Most of those shots were on or near the net.

“We asked our guys to concentrate on getting the balls on goal, and they went in,” Cannella said. When balls go in, you’re not taking four or five shots on every possession. Fortunately for us, we finished fairly well in the first half.

“I don’t care how many shots we take, if we can score 10 or more goals, we’re going to be in pretty good shape.”