Heading into the postseason, ideally teams want to be peaking and playing their best.
The Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team will get an opportunity to do just that, when they closes out their regular season this weekend with two games at McGuirk Stadium against Saint Joseph’s and La Salle.
After losing their first Atlantic 10 matchup of the spring to Duquesne last Friday, the Minutewomen rebounded (7-7, 4-1 A-10) with a victory over Saint Bonaventure at home on Sunday.
Danielle Pelletier scored four goals, while Jackie Lyons led all players with seven points on three goals and four assists. Goalkeeper Katie Florence made seven saves in the cage to help UMass claim the 11-6 win.
“We’re coming into a situation where we’re happy to be home and happy the way we bounced back from the loss to Duquesne, so we’re hoping to use that momentum,” UMass coach Alexis Venechanos said.
First on the schedule are the Hawks, who enter Friday’s matchup with the Minutewomen having struggled all season.
After winning two of its first three games this spring, SJU has dropped 11 consecutive games, including five losses in A-10 play. The Hawks currently sit in dead last in the conference in both their overall win total and A-10 record.
During its losing streak, Saint Joseph’s reached double digits in goals scored only twice. In the A-10, the Hawks rank last in several offensive categories, including goals per game (7.57), points per game (10.64), draw controls per game (9.00), shot percentage (.362) and shots on goal per game (15.43).
On the defensive side, Saint Joseph’s hasn’t fared any better, ranking last in caused turnovers per game (5.57), saves per game (6.50) and save percentage (.376).
“We played Saint Joseph’s twice last year, so we’re familiar with what they’re going to be doing,” Venechanos said. “They play a zone defense, which we worked on in practice this week, and half the teams in our conference do that and half don’t. Their attack runs a motion that we’ve been preparing for.”
The last meeting between UMass and the Hawks was in the A-10 championship game last year. In a thriller, the Minutewomen prevailed 15-14 in overtime to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Lyons scored the overtime game-winner for UMass and was named the A-10 Tournament Most Valuable Player after she recorded five goals and three assists for eight points.
La Salle, meanwhile, is tied for third in the conference standings with Temple, despite dropping its last two A-10 contests.
The Explorers (7-6, 3-2 A-10) began their conference schedule with three impressive wins against the Bonnies, Dukes and Hawks. After losing to Richmond and George Washington in its last two outings, La Salle plays Temple before wrapping up its regular season against the Minutewomen.
In the game against the Colonials, the Explorers celebrated Senior Day (4-10, 2-3 A-10) in a nail biter which lasted into the fourth overtime.
La Salle scored three goals in the final 17 minutes of regulation to tie the game and send it into an extra period. It would be GW that scored the game-winning goal in sudden death, however, to defeat the Explorers 7-6.
“La Salle is a much improved team from past years, and they have a lot of athletic players on their attack and defense and a goalie that’s playing great right now,” Venechanos said.
Though UMass is close to securing a high berth in the upcoming A-10 tournament, the Minutewomen aren’t worrying about possible scenarios.
“We’re not even talking about the tournament,” Venechanos said. “We’re worried about winning on Friday. We know if we win on Friday, we’re in a pretty good situation, and depending on what happens Friday, it will determine what we’re going to do on Sunday.”
Jay Asser can be reached at [email protected].
