The Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team welcomed UMass Lowell for its first home game at Garber Field for the fourth game of its season. The Minutewomen (2-2) dominated the River Hawks (1-3), 16-7.

To open the first half, Olivia Muscella won the faceoff and was able to bring the ball down to the Minutewomen’s side. Stephanie Croke scored the first goal of the game, as she fired the ball to the top right corner of the goal off a free position shot. Croke continued to control the ball and closed out the first half with an assist and four goals, for a season total of seven.

That energy continued in the first half, and the Minutewomen went on a draw control winning streak, which helped them score and win possessions on fast breaks. UMass Lowell’s defensive side gave the home team many opportunities to score. The Minutewomen took the advantage and were able to score three of their nine goals in the first half off free position shots.

“I think it was ball possession and the overall execution,” Minutewomen head coach Angela McMahon said about the first half. “Whether we won draws or we played some really strong defense and caused turnovers. I thought we just really did not have to play a lot of defense and our overall execution on our shots was very high there in the first half.”

The River Hawks were able to get on the board with a man-up opportunity with under 14 minutes left in the first. UMass Lowell also had success with a free shot opportunity and was able to close out the first with two goals. But the first half was played in favor of the Minutewomen who dominated to a 14-2 lead.

The second half looked a little different compared to the first. The River Hawks brought intensity and came out with the first goal of the second. To compete with UMass, UMass Lowell needed to get something started offensively. They ended the second with five goals, for a game total of seven. The River Hawks conquered the second half and were able to get the score to a nine-goal deficit, but ultimately took the loss to the Minutewomen, 16-7.

The Minutewomen had a heavy lead for most of the game. Playing with such a strong lead saw UMass utilize a lot more underclassmen on the field. Sophomore and goalie Bridgette Wall saw some playing time in the second and had three saves in the net.

Other notable underclassmen to take the field were sophomore Alex Finn and freshmen Caroline Wise and Hannah Young. Finn was able to add two goals for the Minutewomen. Wise secured a draw control in the second half during the first minutes of her UMass career. Young, also playing her first collegiate game, secured a free position goal for the Minutewomen.

“Yeah, you know I think they did some great things and were able to learn some things and build their confidence as players,” McMahon said of the underclassmen. “You never know with COVID and who is going to have to step up as a player, and I think they did a great job.”

The Minutewomen have achieved another incredible win for their season. This game may have been a commanding victory, but UMass will have to stimulate its intensity for a rematch against the UConn Huskies on Saturday.

“We have to carry the energy into Saturday, and we are really excited and eager to have another opportunity to grow and learn and play a rival like UConn,” McMahon said about the preparation for Saturday’s game. “Saturday’s game will prepare us for the A-10 and help us move forward, learn from our mistakes and see what we need to adjust.”

Olivia Sault can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @Olivia_Sault.