The Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team thwarted a comeback attempt to beat Saint Joseph’s 14-11 in a matchup for first place in the conference standings. The Minutewomen (7-3, 5-0 Atlantic 10) won a regular season game against an A-10 foe for the 50th consecutive time. The victory against the Hawks (6-6, 4-1 A-10) also makes it five wins in a row on the season.
After UMass went up 5-1 at the end of the first quarter, Saint Joseph’s stormed back to tie the game at six midway through the second quarter. Unfortunately for the Hawks, the Minutewomen did not back down. Instead, they scored three quick goals to end the first half with momentum and a daunting lead.
Both teams entered the game undefeated in conference matchups and tied for the top spot in the A-10. Despite the even record, Saint Joseph’s looked outmatched early on, as UMass scored the first four goals of the game. The opening goal featured impressive ball movement by the Minutewomen attack, with Tessa Shields passing it to Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw, who found Kassidy Morris for the goal. Shields and Norah Prizzi followed up Morris’s goal with scores of their own, while Ava Connaughton beat the Hawks keeper one-on-one on a breakaway to give UMass an early 4-0 lead.
Shields was the star of the game for UMass, as the senior scored four of her game-leading five goals in the first half. The 5-foot-10 attacker was consistently able to use her size and quickness to find the back of the net as Morris and Lil Hancock picked her out while cutting into the middle of the defense numerous times.
Limiting the Hawks to just one goal in the third quarter was critical for the Minutewomen as they headed into the final frame with a six-goal advantage. Despite scoring four goals in the fourth, Saint Joseph’s didn’t have enough to complete the comeback.
UMass goalie Catrina Tobin was a brick wall for the Minutewomen, nearly tying her season-high of 10 saves. The Sudbury native stopped nine shots, with eight coming in the second half. The Hawks’ netminder Jorden Concordia also had an impressive game, making eight saves.
After passing Hannah Murphy for the most draw controls in program history last game, Jordan Dean uncharacteristically struggled. The senior tied her season low for draw controls with just three. Sophomore Katie Peterson got her third draw control victory of the season as she took a couple of draws in the second quarter with Dean struggling. Saint Joseph’s Bella Miceli had Dean’s number all game, as she led the way with eight draws.
Shields continued her hot streak with her aforementioned five goals, completing her eighth consecutive multi-goal game and giving her 33 on the season. The conference’s leading goal scorer in Morris also added four of her own. Furthermore, Connaughton scored a hat trick, while Rodriguez-Shaw scored a goal and tied Hancock for a game-leading two assists.
Meanwhile for the Hawks, both Emma and Maddie Yoder scored two goals each, while Alexa Capozzoli also scored twice and added Saint Joseph’s only assist of the game.
The UMass victory gives the Minutewomen 50 in a row against conference opponents in regular season games, with the most recent loss coming against VCU in April of 2018. UMass also remains undefeated in the A-10 and stands alone at the top of the conference standings with just over a month until the conference tournament.
Next up for the Minutewomen is La Salle, who will visit Amherst on Saturday, March 29. Faceoff at Garber Field’s Pride Day will take place at 12 p.m. and will be available to watch live on ESPN+.
Maxwell Solomon can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @Maxwell697909.
