The Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team finished its regular season defeating George Mason 26-4 on Saturday afternoon at Garber Field.
Despite the rainy, slippery conditions, the Minutewomen (13-3, 10-0 Atlantic 10) recorded their highest goal tally of the season. They are the A-10 regular season champions, and will enter next week’s tournament as the No. 1 seed.
“The team just really came together,” head coach Jana Drummond said. “The senior group [are people] we want to honor and play well for, and you can just tell everyone on the team brought that energy and just felt that motivation to play well for them and for each other.”
Kassidy Morris led the scoring, finding the back of the Patriots’ (7-10, 2-8 A10) net five times. Her fifth goal of the matchup and 70th of the season came in the third quarter with about six minutes left.
Receiving the ball behind the net from attacker Ava Connaughton, Morris ran just outside the crease to find the bottom left corner of the goal, giving UMass an 18-2 lead.
During the first half, Morris set the single-season goal record for the program after scoring her hat-trick goal. The record, previously held by Kiley Anderson and Sam Rush (67), is now at 70 after Saturday’s matchup.
“I’m very fortunate to be a part of this program, I’ve loved it, I’m so thankful,” Morris said. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, they’re everything. This team…the chemistry we have on the field is just outstanding this year.”
Joining Morris on the scoresheet, seniors Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw and Tessa Shields both scored four goals.
Rodriguez-Shaw scored a brace back-to-back in the first quarter to give the Minutewomen a four-goal lead. Her second score found the back of the net after receiving the ball from Lauren Tolve and running into the 12-meter arc, shooting over George Mason goalkeeper Regan Bestick’s head to find the top left corner of the net.
Shields’ 46th goal of the season and her fourth of the afternoon was assisted by Morris within the first couple minutes of the second half. Gaining possession outside the crease, the senior shot over her shoulder to find the back of the net, kickstarting a seven-goal run for UMass.
For the first time in her career, Paris Melberg secured a brace, with her second goal coming midway through the fourth. Being assisted by Isabella Fisher, Melburg shot from outside the eight-meter arc and found the bottom right of Bestick’s net.
Defensively, the Minutewomen had a slow start, conceding to the Patriots within the first 10 seconds of play. However, from there, they went on a 13-goal run, not conceding again until the final three minutes of the second quarter.
“[The slow start] was coming out here and getting a little bit used to [the] weather and the rain,” Drummond said. “It was just fine-tuning some [things], we were playing so fast… so just breathe and get to reset to focus on what we needed to do.”
In net, Catrina Tobin faced nine total shots, five of which were on goal. She made one crucial save after George Mason was awarded a free position shot late in the first quarter. For the most part, though, UMass’ dominance gave the senior goalie a quiet afternoon before being subbed off for freshman Ava Lori Hudgins in the fourth quarter.
Postgame, the Minutewomen honored their 10 seniors: Morris, Jordan Dean, Rodriguez-Shaw, Tolve, Rachel Shu, Melberg, Katherine Cuozzo, Lauren Carey, Shields and Tobin.
Looking ahead, the pressure now falls on UMass to win its final A-10 tournament and receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The program has won at least a share of the conference’s past 13 regular season titles, but it’s won its postseason tournament just once since 2018.
The Minutewomen will be back in action at noon on Friday, May 2, getting a bye to the semifinals of the A-10 tournament. Their opponent is to be determined.
Emma Bensley can be reached at [email protected].
