The Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team wasted no time ushering in a new era by rewarding the newly promoted Jana Drummond with her first win as head coach, beating UMass Lowell 16-7.

Kylee Bowen dominated in her first game as a senior, leading the charge in attack, scoring seven goals.

“I think we just saw what we’ve been seeing all preseason and fall; she’s been a dominant threat,” Drummond said of Bowen’s performance. “She has really taken her game to the next level and bought into what we’ve been asking for, and just did a really great job of going after her strengths and executing that on the field.”

The first half showcased a more balanced scoring display from the Minutewomen (1-0), who started fast with a goal by Alex Finn in the opening 25 seconds, taking advantage of a hard collision initiated by UMass Lowell’s (0-1) Emerson Laundry while fighting for control of the ball off the draw. UMass would go on to score again just over a minute later, when Lauren Tolve picked up a loose ball in the center of the eight meter arc and flung it through the goalie’s legs with ease. Bowen’s first goal on a free position shot would see the Minutewomen go up 4-1 with 2:39 to go in the first quarter.

UMass experienced a prolonged slippage in play from then on to the end of the first half, allowing the River Hawks to score four unanswered goals to take their first lead at 5-4 with 4:57 remaining in the half. During this run, UMass Lowell tightened up defensively, and River Hawks goalie Hannah Shaddock got in a groove with some key saves. Still, Drummond was pleased with the performance on both ends during this stretch, citing the lack of end product as the main catalyst for the run.

“On the offensive end [in the second quarter] it was really just finishing those shots,” Drummond said. “They did a great job of finding those opportunities and creating them, it’s just taking that extra second to finish that shot.”

The two teams went into halftime tied at 5-5 after Bowen’s second goal, with momentum not clearly on either side. It was during the second half that Bowen would leave her mark on the game and guide the Minutewomen to victory. UMass blitzed the River Hawks in the opening minutes of the third quarter as Bowen notched her third goal less than a minute in, then scored again on a perfectly timed cut into the edge of the eight meter arc directly in front of goal. Fiona McGowan calmly curled around the back of the goal with the ball, looking for the right play and decisively found Bowen for the easy chance on goal.

Plays like that assist coming from the attackers outside of Bowen did not go unnoticed by Drummond, who stressed how important their contributions were in helping Bowen to seven goals and the victory.

“Even though the other attackers weren’t scoring, they were setting up [Bowen] to score,” Drummond said. “They did a great job of following that play, keeping their defender busy, so [Bowen] could keep lighting it up and doing her thing.”

UMass dominated the third quarter by a score of 5-0, never to relinquish the lead again.

“We really just went out into the second half with a fearless mindset and really just trying to level up from the first half,” Bowen said of the team’s mindset coming out of the locker room. “It was definitely a battle.”

After the game, Bowen’s mind was on the team victory and getting Drummond her first win as UMass’ head coach.

“I think all of us had [Drummond’s head coaching debut] in mind,” Bowen said. “We wanted to win it for our team and our teammates, but also especially for her as a head coach to get that first one.”

Following the meaningful season-opening win, the Minutewomen will go on the road on Wednesday, Feb. 15, to face Boston College. The game is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Jedhi Lee can be reached at [email protected]