On the verge of history, Massachusetts women’s lacrosse junior attack Katie Ferris rewrote the books with an exclamation point.
Entering Friday’s matchup against Temple, Ferris was tied for UMass’ (12-2, 4-0 Atlantic 10 Conference) all-time points record with Jackie Lyons at 226, but just under five minutes into the contest, the Carthage, N.Y., native broke away from the pack.
Ferris let a hard pass go from behind the cage that redshirt sophomore Courtney McGrath corralled, jumping to full extension before slinging it back into the net, giving Ferris her 20th assist to put the Minutewomen ahead, 3-0.
In the days leading up to the game, Ferris, who finished the game with seven points, said she was asked about what the feeling would be like when she made history, but once it happened, she was nearly speechless, smiling when she remembered the announcement over the PA system.
“It’s awesome,” Ferris said. “I couldn’t have done it without my team. It’s a great feeling. My teammates were excited, (but) it wouldn’t have meant anything to me if we wouldn’t have won today.”
UMass coach Angela McMahon said Ferris’ achievement is great, especially since she is a junior and has more games to play this year as well as her senior year.
“That is remarkable considering we’ve had so many All-Americans come through the program, a lot of history and the people that have come before her,” McMahon said. “In order for it to happen in this game, it was huge because we really needed that. We needed a spark, we needed momentum and she gave us that in the second half.”
With 14 minutes, 39 seconds remaining in the second half and her team trailing by a goal Ferris scored four unanswered goals to put UMass up 11-9 with 10 minutes left in regulation.
Ferris said her offensive outburst in the latter half of the game was fueled by anger, and that she often plays better when frustrated because it gets her focused
“Something just sparks in me when I get mad,” Ferris said. “We weren’t playing the greatest and something needed to be done about it. When they were up by two, I think it was 8-6, I was like, ‘alright, enough.’”
McMahon said that having a player with Ferris’ determination is a clear asset to her squad.
“I think confidence is everything,” McMahon said. “And for her to have that type of confidence and back it up with producing shows what a fantastic player is because that’s not something you can really teach someone. Either they have that within themselves, or they don’t and we’re fortunate enough that she does.”
Peter Cappiello can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Cappiello.
