The No. 11 Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team capped off a 2-0 weekend in conference play with a 16-10 win over St. Bonaventure on Sunday afternoon.
The Minutewomen (11-2, 4-0 Atlantic 10) won their fourth-straight game in conference play and improved their record on the road to 7-0.
Katie Ferris led the way with five goals for UMass, her third five-goal performance of the season. Ferris received plenty of help, as Dayna Defliese, Jesse O’Donnell and Nina Sarcona all added hat tricks. Katie Florence recorded her eleventh win of the season and made five saves in net.
UMass outshot the Bonnies, 39-20, and put constant pressure on St. Bonaventure’s goalkeeper with 32 shots on net.
Statistically, the shots taken category was not the only one dominated by the Minutewomen.
For the ninth time this year, UMass won the battle of the draw controls, collecting 16 faceoffs to the Bonnies’ 12.
In addition, the Minutewomen held an advantage in groundballs (21-9) and forced the opposition into 15 turnovers, while relinquishing the ball just nine times.
Finally, UMass was successful on all 15 of its clear attempts, a major contributor to the amount of shots the Minutewomen were able to get off.
The Maroon and White used a 6-1 run over the last 22 minutes and four seconds of the first half to take a 7-3 lead going into the break.
Ferris and O’Donnell paced the team with two goals apiece in the half.
In the second half, the Bonnies scrapped their way back into the game, when Emily Kane scored early, making the score 9-6
The Minutewomen would not be outdone, however, as they responded with three of the next four goals, with Haley Smith capping off the run with her second goal of the game, extending the lead to six.
With just under eight minutes remaining, the lead seemed insurmountable and a UMass win appeared inevitable. However, the Bonnies made the final few minutes uncomfortable for the Minutewomen.
With four minutes, 39 seconds to play, the Bonnies’ Danielle Drabin scored on a free-position goal, cutting the deficit to four.
But Defliese, who entered the game with just four goals on the season, scored her third goal of the game and effectively put the game away for good.
Drabin led the Bonnies (4-6, 1-3 A-10) with three goals, and goalie Karly Kocis stopped 16 shots.
On Friday, the Minutewomen kicked off their successful weekend with a 13-6 victory over Duquesne, a team that had defeated UMass in their last three meetings.
The Minutewomen were led by freshman Katie Ferris (four goals, one assist) and senior Jackie Lyons (three goals, one assist), while O’Donnell and Smith each added two goals a piece.
Florence made four saves in the cage for the Minutewomen.
Lyons now has 125 career goals, as her hat trick moved her into a tie with Sue Murray for the third-most goals in UMass history.
Again, the draw controls were a pivotal part of the game for the Minutewomen, who went 17-for-21 in draw controls against the Dukes.
UMass stormed out to a 5-0 lead in the first 15 minutes and 12 seconds of play. Duquesne tacked on a pair of goals to stop the run, and the Minutewomen offense was held at bay until Lyons scored the final goal of the half, making the score 6-2.
The Dukes’ Katie Rekart opened up the second half with her second goal of the game. From that point on, it was all UMass, as the Minutewomen went on their second 5-0 run of the game, highlighted by Ferris’ third goal of the contest.
The teams traded goals for the rest of the half, with Duquesne unable to make a legitimate run at the lead.
UMass outshot the Dukes, 38-17, and barely won the groundball battle, 18-17.
Rekart led her team with three goals and one assist, and Liz Walker stopped nine shots.
The Minutewomen will have two home games this coming weekend. On Friday they will take on George Washington at 4 p.m. Then on Sunday, Richmond will come to town for a 12 p.m. start, with both games being played at McGuirk Stadium.
Jackson Alexander can be reached at [email protected].