The Massachusetts field hockey team continued its three-game win streak on Sunday, defeating Dartmouth 3-0 on Senior Day.

After a sentimental morning of honoring seniors Brooke Richards, Hannah de Gast, Claire Danahy, Izzy Acquaviva and Paula Lorenzini, the Minutewomen (11-6, 4-2 Atlantic 10) took to the field full of energy, ending their 2023 home campaign with a win.

“It’s tough to go from emotional to being ready for a game and we’ve been sort of back and forth all morning, but I thought they did that very, very well today and executed our gameplan,” UMass head coach Barb Weinberg said.

Seven minutes into the first half, Dempsey Campbell started the Minutewomen off strong, adding the first tally to the scoreboard. After receiving a pass from Jess Beech, Campbell dribbled through a herd of defenders, finding an open spot within the circle to shoot. The ball made its way towards the bottom left corner past Dartmouth (5-9, 1-5 Ivy League) goalie Ava Carlson for the first goal of the day.

This assist will be graduate student Beech’s last at Gladchuk Field Hockey Complex, and one of many in her UMass career.

“We talk all the time about energy and behavior and [Beech] is often the one that sparks that,” Weinburg said. “She’s fit. She’s quick. She has a grittiness about her where she’s just going to go to the ball, and when she’s on and doing just that it’s a momentum changer for our team.”

After a strong first quarter, the Minutewomen returned to the field ready to find the net once again. Steph Gottwals found Alexa Collins open and the two created the opportunity for a second goal, with Collins tipping the ball and sending it flying into the top left corner.

Gottwals joins Emily Crawford, Beech, Josie Rossbach, and Emilie Keji in the list of graduate students who completed their last game on home turf.

“Our fifth-year [players] just played their last game on Gladchuk so it was quite emotional for them because they are definitely not coming back next year,” Weinberg said.

Two scoreboard tallies were not enough for the Minutewomen, as they found the back of the net once more in the third quarter. At 44:57 Keij assisted Danahy, who hit the ball out of the air and past the Big Green for a triumphant finish to the day and her second straight game with a goal.

Richards had three saves for UMass, topping Carlson who had one save for the day. Richards produced the Minutewomen’s fourth shutout of the year, not allowing any of Dartmouth’s eight shots to enter the goal. With 15 shots on goal, UMass demonstrated strong all-around play and confidence in one another entering the postseason.

“I think [Richards] has probably the hardest job in sport, and really supports [Myrte van Herwijnen] most games but I never hesitate to play her,” said Weinberg. “She had a fantastic game [Sunday] and I’m really happy that on her senior day she was able to win.”

After topping Richmond 5-0 Friday, the Minutewomen secured a bid in the A-10 tournament and look to keep playing at a high level going into fierce competition.

But before that, they’ll have Friday to worry about as they travel to Pennsylvania to face Lock Haven in their last regular season game.

“We’re still taking it one day at a time,” Weinberg said. “We have some improvements to make this week in training and we’re looking forward to locking in and taking care of business during that game. It’s obviously important for our seeding to be able to come away with a win.”

UMass’ regular season finale against the Bald Eagles is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Lucy Postera can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @lucypostera.