The Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team notched a double-digit victory over George Washington on Sunday afternoon, a 21-8 win and another dominant performance to bump their Atlantic 10 win streak to 60 in a row.
2018 is becoming yet another year of highlights for UMass (11-3, 6-0 A-10). Senior Holly Turner, whose first assist in Friday’s game versus George Mason broke the school record for career assists, tore apart the Colonials (9-5, 2-4 A-10) for her second highlight game of the weekend.
With six assists, Turner tied her career-high for a single game and brought her career total to a program-record 127 in a performance that also included two goals. With three games and the playoffs left, there is still room for her to improve her career record, and even to catch her own season high — 45 assists — which she set last season.
“Considering the amount of All-American players we have had go through this program, this is an amazing feat,” said coach Angela McMahon of Turner. “It is one of the greatest stat lines to have. It shows how much of a team player she is. She is a field general.”
UMass’ offense stayed strong from start to finish. Hannah Burnett put five in the back of GW’s net, while Kaitlyn Cerasi and Kiley Anderson added three goals of their own. Anderson’s third goal with 23:05 left put UMass up 12-6 and increased her weekend total to 10.
“Cerasi was extremely aggressive and involved in the offense,” McMahon said. “Everyone has been involved in our games recently. Play is steady and consistent; we are feeling confident going into our last games.”
The current seven-game winning streak would not feel so dominant if not for the stellar defense of the Minutewomen, which can sometimes be overshadowed by great offensive play. GW, like many other teams, could not crack the code of how to get around UMass, and the Colonials were held to four goals in each half on 18 total shots.
UMass plays aggressive defense, looking to cause turnovers and transition quickly down the field, as the Colonials lost the ball 27 times — nine of those turnovers were caused by Minutewomen. It was also a clean game for UMass around their own net, as GW only had two free position shot opportunities all 40 minutes.
Junior Sammy Walters replaced Lauren Hiller in net for the final 30 minutes of the game as she made two saves and managed a defense that saw several freshmen get a chance to play.
Anderson records career-high performance, nets seven goals
The Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team started its weekend road stint against George Mason Friday from Fairfax, Virginia.
UMass came out on top beating George Mason 15-8, a game in which midfielder Kiley Anderson racked up seven goals.
“A majority of our goals yesterday were assisted [and] that’s something that’s really key for us — having that team offensive setting and getting a lot of people involved,” McMahon said. “Yesterday was Kiley’s day and she really just did an outstanding job in that first half battling. [I’m] really proud of her.”
Cassidy Doster and Burnett each had a pair of goals, while the remaining four scores were scored up by a plethora of Minutewomen.
UMass nearly doubled Mason’s shot total, holding a 37-20 advantage.
“We were able to generate a lot of offense off of [our defensive play],” McMahon said. “We had a ton of transition, I mean, I wish in the second half there that we had capitalized a little bit more in our opportunities. We had a ton of shots, but I’m glad to be getting those shots.”
Stephanie Croke, with three ground balls and three turnovers, and Caroline Wyse, with three ground balls and a caused turnover, led the Minutewomen’s defense. Lauren Hiller recorded seven saves and four ground balls.
“I think our defense did a phenomenal job,” McMahon said. “It was one of the best defensive games we’ve played all year. [Hiller] was making saves…just a great overall team effort and it was really a catalyst for us on [defense] to get those saves and cause turnovers.”
UMass will face conference opponent Richmond in Virginia this Friday. The Spiders are undefeated in A-10 play this year and have lost only one game in all of March and April.
Friday’s start is set for 4 p.m.
Justin Ekstrom can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @JustinJEkstrom, and Ryan Beaton can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @ry_beaton.
