The Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team handily defeated Rhode Island 18-8 in their first game as DI opponents. The Rams (4-3, 0-1 Atlantic 10) joined the Atlantic 10 for their inaugural season but were outmatched by the Minutewomen Wednesday afternoon (4-3, 2-0 A-10). UMass remains undefeated in conference play with two wins.
“I think it’s exciting,” Minutewomen head coach Jana Drummond said. “Great competition for us hopefully in the future. Having them come up here was great, having a team that we’ve never seen before and just keep that identity and focus was even more impactful.”
UMass came into Garber Field on fire, finding the back of the net three times in the first four minutes of the game. Ava Connaughton found Kassidy Morris, who scored the opening goal after the Minutewomen forced a Rhode Island turnover. Then, 15 seconds later, Morris fired a screamer that went top left for her second goal of the game. Finally, 12 seconds after Morris’s second, Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw put one past the keeper to give UMass an early 3-0 lead that it didn’t look back on.
“The fast paced [offense] is our style, just going out there and trusting our instincts, trusting each other, it turns out well for us. The more we can do that, the better … that high pace helps us,” Drummond said.
With eight and a half minutes remaining in the first quarter, Lil Hancock found Morris in front of the net for a very quick hat trick. Last week’s A-10 offensive player of the week ended the opening period with four goals.
Tessa Shields was able to cap an eight-goal first period with a bounce shot goal. The senior also had a hot first quarter scoring twice in the first and opened up the second with another bounce shot that gave her a hat trick. Shields got her fourth and final goal later in the second after rebounding Lauren Tolve’s penalty shot and scoring.
After scoring 14 in the first half, Connaughton continued the offense’s hot streak by assisting Tolve’s only goal and then getting one of her own later in the third quarter. The sophomore picked up four goals for the game which ties her season high.
Late in the lopsided game, sophomore Dylan Lyons scored her first career goal after hitting the crossbar seconds earlier. Her score gave UMass a 12-goal lead. Two minutes later, Sydney MacDonald also picked up her first career goal for the Rams. The redshirt freshman’s first started a 3-0 run for Rhode Island where Kate Cumins and Brinley Myers both scored their second goals of the game. Isabella Fisher ended the scoring streak and finished the game with her second career goal as a Minutewoman right before time ran out.
Jordan Dean had a standout game as the Preseason First Team All-American won 16 draw controls, a season high for the senior.
Connaughton led the game with seven points while Morris scored a game-high five goals. Morris has now scored 12 goals in the past two games after starting with just four in the first three games.
“[Morris] is just building her confidence,” Drummond stated.
Despite the loss, Casey Phelps was a star in net for Rhode Island, making a season-high 16 saves. The Maryland native was a big reason why Morris was shutout in the second half. Meanwhile on the other side, Catrina Tobin finished with four saves en route to her fourth win on the season.
Next on the schedule for UMass is Duquesne for another conference matchup. The game will be at noon on Saturday, March 15 at Garber Field and available to watch on ESPN+.
Maxwell Solomon can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @Maxwell697909
