The No. 17 Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team edged out UMass Lowell 10-9 in a Kennedy Cup matinee on Tuesday. UMass (7-1) has now won seven consecutive games after suffering its lone loss to Army in the season opener.
River Hawks (3-5, 0-1 America East) midfielder Riley Lawhorn rifled a low shot in attempt to level the game during the final moments, only to be stoned by freshman goalie Owen Salanger. The Minutemen held onto the ball for the remainder of the clock and retained the tight one-goal lead.
After a back-and-forth game, UMass unknotted the contest through freshman phenom Robbie Granara under the two-minute mark in the fourth quarter. The attacker exploded towards the net and received a pass from fellow star scorer Trace Hogan to pot the game-winner. The goal was Granara’s second of the game and his 19th of the 2025 campaign.
The aforementioned Hogan dropped a hat trick of his own, marking the fourth three-goal performance on the season for the Merrimack transfer. He has amassed a team-leading 20 goals and a grand total of 35 points, which is currently good for top-20 in the nation.
Hogan scored two goals during a five-minute span in the first quarter to give the Minutemen some life when they needed it. The start was far from perfect and contained three separate multi-goal deficits, but they did not allow any insurmountable damage. The Jupiter, Florida native also scored a crucial goal in the final frame in the fashion of a sidearm rip.
Sophomore attacker Michael Finnerty was another top contributor, as he registered the first two goals of his collegiate career. The Melville, New York native appeared just twice last year. Early in the second quarter, Finnerty used his defender as leverage before whipping a shot into the back of the net. Eight minutes later, he finished off another attacking move thanks to a masterfully executed pick-and-roll.
UMass’ man-up play has improved drastically across the last two games. In the 11-7 win over Rutgers in the team’s previous matchup, it went a perfect 3-for-3 on the man-advantage. In the victory over UMass Lowell, the Minutemen converted on their only opportunity, meaning they have scored on four straight man-ups.
Matthew Cargiulo found a soft spot in the River Hawks’ man-down zone to catch and shoot. Calculated around-the-horn passing resulted in Jack Turowsky picking Cargiulo out in between five defenders. The midfielder continued his immense scoring form after adding three more against Rutgers, and scoring in all but one game this season.
The flying 6-1 record over the first half of the year is tied for sixth-best in Division I. UMass hasn’t scored as many goals as the other top teams, but its defense has been a massive strong suit up to this point. As a team, it averages 11.86 goals per game and concedes less than eight per game on the opposite end of the field. The plus 28 goal differential ranks No. 15 across all 77 squads. In the NCAA’s Rating Percentage Index metric, the Minutemen come in at No. 11 and represent the top team in the Atlantic 10.
The grueling Atlantic 10 schedule will begin after one final non-conference game. Two of the other five teams in the conference currently possess a winning record, Saint Joseph’s and Richmond. The Hawks won the A-10 tournament last season and were the ones to end UMass’ season as well. They are currently on a blazing six-game winning streak. The Spiders are 5-3, but have played a very difficult schedule thus far.
The final non-conference test for the Minutemen will be the Brown Bears in a game scheduled for Saturday, March 22 at 12 p.m. UMass is returning home to Garber Field after winning all of its previous four games on the road. The home side looks to exact revenge after a controversial 11-10 loss against Brown exactly one year to the day of the looming matchup.
Cameron Pellegrino can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @cam_pellegrino.
