The Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team was back in action at Garber Field on Tuesday and its 14-4 squashing of UMass Lowell showed that it was happy to be home. The four goals scored by UML were the fewest UMass has allowed an opponent all season.
“You can say all you want about playing at home, but if you don’t prepare for it the right way and take advantage of it, then it doesn’t mean anything,” said coach Greg Cannella, “but I thought our guys had a lot of fight out there today, which is good to see.”
With goals from Gabe Procyk, Scott Del Zotto, Devin Spencer and Jeff Trainor, UMass jumped out to a 4-0 by the end of the first quarter. UML managed only one shot on goal while the Minutemen notched eleven. The Minutemen seemed to take UML by surprise early on with their aggression on defense, causing five Riverhawk turnovers in the first quarter alone.
“I just think we played with great intensity,” said Cannella.
The Riverhawks failed to convert three of their clears in the first quarter, and in the second quarter UMass continued to harass them. UML was only 8-15 on clears by the end of the first half. The Riverhawks finished the day with a mark of 16-24 on clears, while the Minutemen were a perfect 13-13.
“I think there was a lot of hustle there in terms of our attack getting back, and then our midfield was executing what we do in the ride game,” said Cannella.
Attack Nick Roy, who hadn’t seen action until Saturday against NJIT, turned in two assists in the first half, setting up two of Devin Spencer’s three goals of the afternoon.
“Nick did a great job being a really strong feeder,” said Cannella. “He probably should’ve had seven or eight assists today. Just being available for outlets and driving hard, making good looks. Nicky’s a good player, so we’re happy for him.”
Isaac Paparo and Kevin Tobin each added a goal in the second quarter to make the score 7-1 UMass going into the half.
Paparo initiated the scoring in the third quarter, taking the ball up the field after a Sean Sconone save and doing it himself. His goal was followed by scores from Del Zotto (unassisted) and Devin Spencer (assisted by Trainor.) Cory Highfield found the back of the cage for UML in between the Del Zotto and Spencer scores, making it 10-2 UMass after three.
The Minutemen continued to pile it on in the fourth. Ben Spencer and Gabe Procyk each scored two a piece, and by the 7:38 mark, UMass had itself a 12-goal lead. About a minute and a half later, UMass called timeout and plugged in its bench for the remainder of the contest.
UML tacked on 2 more goals after that point, but it was too little too late, and UMass walked away victorious for the third straight game. The Minutemen played without attack Chris Connolly, tied with Gabe Procyk for the team-lead in points, along with “a number of other guys,” who were inactive for “violating team rules,” per Cannella.
UMass will continue its four-game home stand on Sunday at noon when it hosts Utah.
Ben Painchaud can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @Ben_Painchaud.
