On a rainy and overcast day in Amherst, the No. 16 Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team suffered its first defeat of conference play in a 14-9 loss to High Point at Garber Field. The Minutemen (8-3, 1-1 Atlantic 10) held a one-goal lead early in the second quarter, but a devastating six-goal run by the Panthers (5-6, 2-0 A-10) along with nearly 20 scoreless minutes was too much for UMass to overcome.
“We got our butts kicked, big time,” head coach Greg Cannella said. “[High Point] outplayed us. Give High Point a lot of credit, [they] came in here [with a] good game plan, we were out-coached. They out-ground balled us, they out-toughed us, they did everything in their will to win the game and they did.”
After Brian Jackman bounced home a goal, it appeared that the Minutemen were on the right track up 4-3 with 10:56 remaining in the second quarter.
However, High Point had other plans. The Panthers unleashed a 6-0 run following Jackman’s goal that extended deep into the third quarter. By the time UMass had scored its fifth goal, approximately 19 in-game minutes had passed since its fourth.
The Minutemen struggled in multiple facets, as they were plagued by a 17-8 deficit in the face-off game and dominated 34-14 in ground balls. Turnovers also led to goals for High Point. The Panthers got their run started in the second quarter after Caio Stephens picked off a cross-field pass by Caelin Lewis, resulting in a quick transition goal from Ian Cann.
“It seemed like every bounce went the way of High Point today,” Cannella said. “I told the guys ‘Listen, that’s what happens when you play good teams’. When you’re not playing your best and you’re playing a good team, all the balls are going to bounce their way.”
UMass tried to recover from the Panther onslaught with some help from Robbie Granara. Granara, the consistent freshman attack, has scored in every game thus far this season. On Saturday, Granara posted his fifth hat trick of the season and his second consecutive after a three-goal effort in a win over Saint Joseph’s last week.
After being quiet in the first half, the Reading, Mass. native tried to will his team back into the game by scoring their fifth and sixth goals in the third quarter. On his first goal, Trace Hogan — standing to the left and behind the cage — spotted Granara cutting and served it inside for a beautiful behind-the-back finish by the freshman. Granara’s second goal was scored in similar fashion, with Hogan set up directly behind the cage and feeding it for the point-blank score.
“[Granara’s] a baller, a really good player, he shoots the ball really well,” Cannella said. “He dodged a little bit today as well, I think he felt like ‘Hey listen, I’m not involved in the game a bunch.’ [High Point] did a really good job of covering the inside … [Granara’s] just consistent and he’s a great goal scorer. It was good to see that, you just wish you had more possessions.”
The freshman drove with a little over 10 minutes left in the game and tucked in a right-handed shot between High Point goalie Zack Overend and the right pipe. That goal secured a hat trick for Granara and got the Minutemen within four goals in the game. UMass would not get closer, as the Panthers held the ball for nearly four minutes afterwards and scored two more goals to put the game on ice.
“High Point kind of turned it on and they just kept scoring and they won face-offs in the second half, they dominated in the face-offs in the second half,” Cannella said. “We had minimal possessions in the third quarter, I think we may have had four, five possessions on offense in total, you’re not going to win a lot of games with that.”
The Minutemen will look to bounce back in their next game as they continue conference play with a matchup against St. Bonaventure on Saturday, April 12 at Garber Field. That game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Marco Lopez can be reached at [email protected].
