In a battle between two top offenses in the Atlantic 10 conference, the Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team emerged victorious in a 20-13 win over St. Bonaventure. The Minutewomen (11-3, 9-0 A-10) extended their regular season game win streak against A-10 opponents to 53 games, falling to VCU in overtime in April of 2018.
Redshirt junior Kassidy Morris led the UMass offense with eight goals, including a first half hat trick. The Ontario native kickstarted the goal fest with two goals within 10 seconds of each other. Morris caught the feed from Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw and spun around the defender. At the left elbow of the eight-meter arc, the attacker fired a bounce shot through Bonnies (9-7, 5-4 A-10) goaltender Katelyn Hicks’ legs.
On the draw, Rodriguez-Shaw controlled the ball and ran towards the goal. As the defense crashed to cover the ball, Morris popped down with an open net in front of her for a quick pass and shot to give the Minutewomen their first lead. Morris is first in the conference in both points and points per game.
Rodriguez-Shaw and Tessa Shields both finished with five points. Rodriguez-Shaw scored back-to-back goals in the second quarter and led the team in assists with three. Shields finished with two helpers and a hat trick.
The UMass defense was pivotal in Saturday’s matchup, finishing with nine caused turnovers. St. Bonaventure finished with seven caused turnovers, four of which were from junior defender Brit Colangelo. The Minutewomen are first in the A-10 for caused turnovers, followed closely by Duquesne, and fourth in the nation.
Goalkeeper Catrina Tobin stood between the pipes for UMass, finishing with four saves on 12 shots on goal. Bonnie’s senior Fiona McGovern took a shot on a woman up opportunity after a yellow card was issued to Katherine Cuozzo, but Tobin made a stick save to hold the Minutewomen’s lead. Hicks finished with nine saves on 23 shots on goal.
Ava Connaughton continued to be a strong presence for UMass, scoring two goals against St. Bonaventure. The sophomore handled the ball at the top of the goalkeeper’s crease, faking shots before sending a low shot past Hicks’ legs into the back of the net. Connaughton tallied her second goal after the Minutewomen passed the ball down the field on the transition. Shields held the ball above the arc and found Connaughton’s stick for another fake out shot along the crease.
The Bonnies were led by Brooke Piper, who scored four goals. The junior found the back of the net for the first time on a bounce shot into the corner past Tobin’s stick. On their next possession, Megan Schillinger passed to Piper, but the ball deflected off the stick and bounced over Tobin’s head and into the goal behind her.
McGovern led St. Bonaventure in points with six, finishing with a hat trick and three assists. The senior took the lead back from UMass at the end of the first quarter. After faking out defender Rachel Shu, McGovern drove up the left lane and fired a shot past Tobin.
Senior Lauren Tolve was the fifth Minutewoman to record multiple goals during the game. The midfielder’s first goal came on a free position shot, where she placed the ball over a lunging Hicks’ left shoulder. Tolve also picked up two ground balls and one caused turnover.
Schillinger, Tori Nascimento and Grace Hollenbeck each scored two goals for the Bonnies. Hollenbeck opened up scoring in under two minutes. Passing the ball around looking for an open lane to net, McGovern runs toward the center of the fan. Hollenbeck cuts to the center of the arc right above the crease, sending a high shot into the back of the net past Tobin.
Lil Hancock, Norah Prizzi and Katie Peterson each scored one goal on Saturday. Prizzi finished with three points coming from two assists to Shields and Tolve.
The Minutewomen return to Garber Field to face UMass Lowell on Tuesday, April 22. First draw is set for 3 p.m.
Devin Lippman can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @devinlippman.
