The Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team defeated Marist 18-11 on the back of four separate players recording hat tricks.
UMass (2-1) scored two-thirds of its 18 goals from four scorers: Mike Tobin, Shane O’Leary, Carter Castillo and Caelin Lewis. The Marist Red Foxes (2-1) had no answers defensively for the high scoring game.
“You hope that you have that kind of balance,” head coach Greg Cannella said. “It doesn’t always happen, but those guys worked hard today. Mike, Carter, Mason, a couple times in the ride as well, got extra possessions. We shot the ball pretty well.”
O’Leary was the first to complete his hat trick, a measly 20 minutes into the contest. His three tallies all took place in an 8 minute span. His first contribution was a showcase of speed. O’Leary substituted into the game and quickly caught a pass before cradling through the entire Marist team and finishing at the near post to grab a 4-3 lead.
By the time Lewis fulfilled his first-half triple, the score line had stretched out to a six-goal advantage heading into the locker room. With the addition of the goals, Lewis now leads the team with six goals in his first three games as a Minuteman. His long-range shooting ability has been on display in each matchup thus far.
Tobin was the third UMass scorer to reach the three-goal mark in the game. He dodged inside his defender and took flight in front of goal as he pushed the ball into the net at full extension. His controlled leap allowed him to avoid entering the crease, which would have overruled the goal.
“Michael [Tobin is] a tremendous leader,” Cannella said. “He’s been a two-year captain for us. As a leader he’s a quiet guy, not a loud leader in that sense. He’s an empathetic leader, he understands people, he understands how to react in certain situations, he understands their feelings, which makes him a pretty special guy.”
In the game’s dying moments, Castillo concluded a hat trick of his own. His final goal was the cherry on top of a masterclass of an attacking performance. Charles Kurtz, who scored his first career goal on Tuesday afternoon, picked out Castillo’s run towards the net for the 18th of the day.
“[Castillo] is a great teammate,” Tobin said. “He’s like a war general out there.”
The Minutemen had most of their success in the second quarter. They outscored the Red Foxes 7-1 in the period. UMass kept Marist off the scoreboard for nearly 13 consecutive minutes. In the closing ten minutes of the second quarter, they posted six unanswered goals after being knotted at five a piece.
UMass attempted 44 total shots, 29 of which were on target. Marist goalie Noble Smith made some impressive saves, but the pressure was too much for his defense to handle. On the other side of the field, UMass goalie Matt Knote was solid — per usual — earning seven saves of his own.
A strange sequence occurred at the conclusion of the first quarter. Marist was first assessed a three-minute major penalty for using an illegal stick. The Minutemen were unable to take advantage of the extra man opportunity and at the expiration of the clock, Tobin was issued a one-minute penalty for the same reason.
“We haven’t been in a game for I don’t know how long with that penalty called on both teams for sticks,” Cannella said.
UMass will continue its home stand at Garber Field against Merrimack on Saturday, Feb. 24. Faceoff is set for 1 p.m.
Cameron Pellegrino can be reached at [email protected]. Myles Donato can be reached at [email protected].
