The Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team took an early lead and was able to keep the offensive momentum going on Tuesday, defeating Siena College 18-12.

Marra making her presence known

After recording the second goal of the day for the No. 22 Minutewomen (4-2), Kelly Marra was determined to keep the ball rolling and the lead growing. Marra recorded two goals in the second quarter, after scoring her first goal just two minutes into the game, earning the hat trick before the clock ticked down and the buzzer sounded for halftime.

Coming out at the start of the third quarter, Marra continued to charge towards the net, recording a goal in the opening three minutes. Soon after, Alex Finn had the ball and passed it off to Marra who scored yet again.

This marked her season high,  previously recording four goals on Feb. 23 in UMass’ win against Vermont.

Strong Start

As seen throughout many of the games this season, the Minutewomen were quick to jump out front, finding the back of the net in the early minutes, including in their two losses. In the loss to Boston College, Kendra Harbinger recorded the first goal, and was quick to do the same in Tuesday’s matchup against the Saints (2-5). Following Harbinger’s goal, Marra and Alex Finn responded. As the time ticket down in the first quarter, UMass maintained its lead, with Maddy Moloney extending the lead to three with 22 seconds remaining.

Harbinger leads the team in goals, with 21, including the four-goal scored by the Minutewomen. While Finn falls in second for goals, she leads the team in points with 27, including 18 goals and nine assists.

Offensive Production from Scoring Depth

In the second quarter, Audra Tosone picked up a ground ball and rifled a shot past Siena goalkeeper Ally Mervine, earning her first goal of the season. The junior’s only other point of the season was an assist in UMass’ loss to UConn.

By halftime, the Minutewomen were leading the charge with 18 shots, 14 of which were on goal, with Siena at 11 and six on goal. Furthermore, their control of groundballs at half remained strong, going 11-4, contributing to UMass’ six-point lead.

Brinley Anderson joined the scoring action with a goal of her own in the third period, followed by Tessa Shields, who got just her second collegiate goal off a free position shot. Charlotte Clavelli had two goals on the season heading into Tuesday but added one more with a goal late in period.

Haley Connaughton recording her first of the year after being sidelined in the first games of the season due to an injury. The captain made her return in the loss to UConn and her only previous point was earned in the game against Vanderbilt with an assist.

Despite scoring remaining low throughout the entirety of the fourth quarter, UMass eventually got its first goal with two minutes remaining, scored by Paris Melberg. This was her first of the season.

Breakdowns in the Fourth Quarter

After a dominating 45 minutes, head coach Angela McMahon-Serapone made the decision to sub in some players, after the Minutewomen’s lead grew larger, who don’t regularly see as much time on the field.

Going into the fourth quarter, Siena had an 11-point deficit to overcome, but slowly chipped away at it. The six goals scored led to this being the most points the Saints have put up in a single game in program history.

Mary Soures, Nicole McNeely and Grace Dobrzynski each scored two goals during the period, with Soures ending the game with five total and McNeely with four.

UMass will continue its stand of away games when it faces off against Dartmouth at 1 p.m. on Friday in its final non-conference matchup of the regular season.

Sophie Weller can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @SophieeWellerr.