In the windy Amherst weather, the Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team triumphed over VCU 16-8 at Garber Field on Saturday. Riding high on a seven-game winning streak, the Minutewomen (9-4, 7-0 Atlantic 10) remain undefeated against the Rams (4-11, 3-4 A-10) while at home.
After a shaky start with both teams going back and forth, the Minutewomen found their groove in the third quarter. The team surged ahead, scoring six consecutive goals. Meanwhile, the defense stood resolute, conceding none against VCU.
“At halftime, it was really just figuring out getting back to the UMass way, getting back to that blue-collar [style of] play,” head coach Jana Drummond said. “And we really needed more voices to step up, and they did.”
One of these voices that stepped up was attacker Kassidy Morris. Morris was on fire, netting four consecutive goals during the third quarter alone. Morris had a career-high seven goals off 15 shots against the Rams, and she wasn’t the only one making waves—Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw added the other two goals.
“People were dodging harder [in the third] … people started attacking, being more aggressive, and seeing lanes that they had,” Drummond said. “Once they started doing that, it was like a tic-tac-toe effect, and it was great to see.”
Draw specialist Jordan Dean also logged an impressive performance for UMass. Currently ranked first in the NCAA Division I standings for draw controls per game, Dean secured a career-high 20 draws for the Minutewomen.
“[The team] just gets so excited for her … that success that she has, they root for her and they cheer for her,” Drummond said. “[Dean’s] just one of those [players] that works so hard off the field and takes actions to make herself better … [her effort] really helps us.”
The game started with a bang as Lauren Tolve assisted Morris with a beautiful ball, opening the scoring a little over a minute into the game. VCU returned three minutes later, scoring an equalizer from Rachel Koeneke off a penalty. Fiona McGowan, currently ranked fourth overall in assists per game in the NCAA Division I standings, came back with a wrap-around goal, followed by another goal from Charlotte Wilmoth. The Rams sneakily ended the quarter with another goal from Koeneke once again.
“We came out strong and then we got a little bit less disciplined with what we needed to do [in the first half],” Drummond said. “VCU is a tough team [and] they’re respectable opponents.”
The back-and-forth intensity didn’t let up as the second quarter kicked off. The Minutewomen managed three goals, but the Rams weren’t backing down, answering with four of their own. This quarter saw some aggression, with yellow cards being handed out left and right for both teams. The quarter ended with sixes on both ends of the board, with both teams fighting for the edge going into the half.
As the game pressed on into the third and fourth frames, there was a noticeable shift in momentum for UMass. The Minutewomen seemed to hit their stride, taking charge and dominating the field in a way that left the Rams scrambling to keep up.
“[Going into the next game], we just have to focus on ourselves,” Drummond said. “We need to just get ourselves detail oriented and disciplined … staying committed to the game plan will be super important.”
The Minutewomen return to Garber Field, facing the University of Connecticut on Wednesday, April 17 at 6 p.m.
Kate Endres can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Kate_e_endres.
