While there might not be any true household name on the Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team this year, coach Angela McMahon has quickly realized that having a balanced offensive attack can be equally as good.
Three separate players recorded hat tricks in the Minutewomen’s 12-7 win at New Hampshire on Saturday just three days removed from a double-overtime thriller against Connecticut.
Midfielder Hannah Murphy led all UMass scorers with four goals while Katie Ott and Holly Turner each finished with three scores apiece. The Minutewomen had eight different players tally points on the stat sheet.
“We want to be really multi-dimensional and prove that we can have different players step up on different days and that’s good for us,” McMahon said. “We need to have more players in the stat sheet and we want to continue to do that moving forward.”
After playing the two extra periods in its previous game, UMass got off to a slow start, as the Wildcats scored the first goal of the afternoon when Laura Puccia received a well-timed pass from Kayleigh Hinkle to beat goalkeeper Rachel Vallarelli (nine saves). The Minutewomen answered the wake-up call right on cue and scored four unanswered goals over the next 10 minutes to take a 4-1 lead.
McMahon attributed her team’s early success to its ability to control the tempo of the game and create smart, methodical opportunities.
“I was pretty happy today,” McMahon said. “UNH scored the first goal, and then we came right back and after that we slowly started to build momentum. I thought we had some really long, patient offensive possessions.
“The other day we were rushed and frantic. (Saturday) we played much more under control and that enabled us to control the pace of the game.”
The closest UNH got in the second half was a two-goal deficit that came on two separate occasions. Puccia scored her third goal of the game with 23 minutes, 23 seconds remaining to cut the UMass lead to 6-4. The Wildcats again cut the deficit to two when Hinkle scored with 18:31 left.
The Minutewomen (3-0) outscored UNH 6-5 in the second half and held the advantages in groundballs, draw controls and saves. Both teams recorded 21 shots on goal and the Minutewomen scored on its only free-position shot while the Wildcats finished 0-for-2.
“I have a lot of confidence in our team in terms of our ability,” McMahon said. “I think our athleticism; hard work and speed allow us the flexibility to try new things, which we were doing all throughout the first three games.
McMahon added: “We’ve had a different game plan for each of the three games. We are trying out new things and seeing what’s working, and more importantly seeing who will step up. Plays are now starting to solidify their role at different positions and in different formations and it’s really working for us.”
McMahon said attacker Erika Eipp was receiving extra attention offensively as it was UNH’s focus to take her out of her rhythm early and often.
Eipp is the most versatile weapon for UMass (four goals, three assists for the season) and is second on the team in points, only behind Murphy, who’s scored 10 goals in three games.
The Minutewomen will continue their stretch of New England opponents when they travel to in-state rival Boston University on Wednesday afternoon.
Andrew Cyr can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Andrew_Cyr.
