The No. 11 Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team finished its 2014 schedule the way many of them began, cruising by St. Bonaventure 21-8 on Friday.
Fourteen different players scored for the Minutewomen (15-1, 6-0 Atlantic 10) en route to the victory.
“Our key focus of the day was getting more people involved,” UMass coach Angela McMahon said. “We need depth, and we need multiple scorers going forward, so I’m glad we were able to execute on that because we need people having confidence out there that they can go to cage and finish.”
UMass was led by hat trick performances from Sam Rush, Katie Ferris and Ellie Bullitt, but perhaps the most exciting goals came from those who don’t often score, as sophomore Mary Pat Theofield got her first goal of the season and freshman Meagan Keefe scored the first goal of her collegiate career.
“It’s really good to know that when we need people to come off the bench to perform, they can do it,” Rush said. “I was really proud of Meagan Keefe in particular for getting her first career goal.”
The Bonnies (0-13, 0-6 A-10) struck first just minutes into the game, but the Minutewomen answered with 12 consecutive goals to put the game out of reach midway through the first half.
UMass was dominant across the board, starting from the draw, where the team finished with a 22-9 advantage on draw controls. Hannah Murphy hauled in nine of them.
“(Murphy) really stepped up, saw the ball well,” McMahon said. “Anything that’s near her, she’s going to come up with. She just has a great eye for the ball.”
Murphy, who usually comes off the bench, got to start in Friday’s game as the team’s primary draw taker.
“It was really exciting,” Murphy said. “I’m just happy I got the opportunity.”
The team’s usual primary draw specialist, Kelsey McGovern, did not suit up for the game. McMahon said McGovern’s absence from the lineup was just to give her some rest. She said McGovern should be in the lineup for Sunday’s regular season finale against Duquesne.
“It’s just a long weekend,” she said. “We know we have two games to play and we want to be ready going forward.”
As usual, with a substantial lead established in the first half, UMass had its reserves take over for most of the second half. St. Bonaventure held up a little better in the second frame, scoring five goals and allowing just six from the Minutewomen.
“We got a little careless with the ball occasionally, and honestly, I thought St. Bonaventure did a great job of getting the loose balls, getting the draws,” McMahon said. “They didn’t back down, they continued to fight, and they have a couple good players there, and they kept working hard.”
Rush said she was glad to get the win in the last home game of her career.
“It’s really great,” she said. “It might be one of the last times I get to play on this field, so it was really good to go out with a bang.”
Jesse Mayfield-Sheehan can be reached at [email protected] and can be followed on Twitter @jgms88.
