For the first time since the 2014 season, the Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team’s home record will feature a loss.
On Wednesday afternoon at Garber Field, No. 16 UMass (0-1) lost to its in-state counterpart No. 17 Boston College, 18-10.
The Minutewomen held a 4-1 advantage at one point early on in the matchup but the Eagles (2-0) stormed back for seven unanswered goals to take a 8-4 advantage, cementing a lead they would not relinquish.
“Obviously it’s heartbreaking,” senior Hannah Murphy said about the rare home loss. “There’s a lot of tradition here and the goal is to win but it happens. I think we’re fighters so we’re going to try and bounce back from this.”
UMass’ previous home field loss came all the way back on March 25, 2014, when the Minutewomen dropped a 10-6 affair to No. 7-ranked Northwestern.
In the second half, BC’s offense exploded for 12 goals, with senior Kate Weeks scoring six of her eight goals in the final half, matching UMass’ total goal output as a team in the final 30 minutes.
Minutewomen junior Holly Turner finished the contest with five points (4 goals, 1 assist).
BC dominated the draw control statistic with the Eagles earning 22 draw controls compared to eight for UMass and Minutewomen coach Angela McMahon pointed to her team’s physical condition for the lopsided number.
“I think they were first to the ball,” McMahon said. “They were feisty, just quicker and we need to do a better job so that we’re not reacting. We have to be the first ones to the ball wherever it’s going, doesn’t matter where it is, we have to come up with it.”
UMass was unable to stop the Eagles momentum after each goal because of their inability to control draws and the Eagles kept pushing the pace and scoring goals, much to the dismay of the Minutewomen.
“For lack of a better word, just a bad day,” Murphy said about the draw numbers. “That’s usually our strong suit. We didn’t show what we usually show on the draw today.”
The 18 goals scored against UMass was the most its allowed since its season ending defeat to No. 1 Maryland last season in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament.
McMahon wasn’t too concerned with her team’s defensive play though, even with the high goals against total.
“I think our defense did a pretty good job,” McMahon said. “I would’ve liked to contain [Weeks] a little bit, she got really hot.”
“We tried to put a focus on her but when you’re playing catch up you’re going to have a little bit of holes defensively because we’re exposed since we’re trying to attack,” McMahon added.
Ryan Ames can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @_RyanAmes.
