The Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team clinched the Atlantic 10 championship Sunday after rolling over Saint Joseph’s in a 15–4 win. The Minutewomen (15-3, 10-0 A-10) earned an automatic NCAA tournament bid with the victory over the Hawks (11-8, 9-1 A-10).
“I’m just really proud of them and their overall hustle,” head coach Jana Drummond said. “Everything they did today was for each other and for this team … I’m really proud of them for doing that.”
With a two-goal lead early on, UMass’s defense kept the pressure on, boxing the Hawks in and running down the shot clock. Already facing a five-goal deficit, Saint Joseph’s looked to midfielder Emma Yoder for a spark. She received the ball outside the 8-meter fan and fired a shot into the bottom left of Catrina Tobin’s net with a second remaining. The Hawks began celebrating, but the goal was ultimately waved off after a shot-clock violation.
Following the review and pause in play, the Minutewomen scored seven more goals, allowing just one from Saint Joseph’s the rest of the way.
The Hawks opened the game strong, instantly pressuring the UMass defense. After swinging the ball around, Alexa Capozzoli curled around the back right side of the cage and found Kate Fuhrman inside. Fuhrman released a scrappy shot that deflected off Tobin’s stick and rolled into the net, giving Saint Joseph’s a lead less than a minute into the game.
UMass responded quickly. With a draw control from NCAA record-holder Jordan Dean, the Minutewomen pushed up field. Tessa Shields deked past Yoder and fired a shot into the bottom left corner to tie it 1–1 two minutes in.
Scoring slowed after the early exchange. Two yellow cards against UMass in the first frame forced the Minutewomen into defensive mode. Tobin came up with three saves during that span, and UMass went three-for-four on clears. It wasn’t until a quick pass from Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw and a line-drive goal from Kassidy Morris that the Minutewomen broke through again.
The Hawks answered early in the second with a goal from Capozzoli, but Rodriguez-Shaw countered with a free-position goal minutes later. Both teams struggled to generate offense for much of the quarter. Saint Joseph’s had several possessions but couldn’t convert, with the Minutewomen causing three turnovers and completing two clears during the lull.
“We were just reading the next play, we knew they wanted to get it to certain personnel, so we were ready for it,” Drummond said. “Being a step ahead put us in a good spot.”
With a 5–2 lead at the half; UMass found its rhythm coming out of the 15-minute break. After winning the opening draw, the Minutewomen passed around the perimeter until Norah Prizzi received the ball behind the goal. She wrapped around to face goalie Jorden Concordia and slipped the ball under her legs. Although the Hawks answered with a goal from Riley Miller, UMass responded with a three-goal run in about three minutes.
After the shot-clock violation that nullified Yoder’s goal, the Minutewomen pulled away for good. They scored five goals in the fourth quarter while simultaneously shutting out Saint Joseph’s in the frame.
“We’ll watch the selection show as a team, see what our matchup is going to be, and start preparation this week,” Drummond said. “For us it’s just really enjoying this moment, soaking it in today because [we] worked so hard this season.”
With their first A-10 championship since 2021, the Minutewomen are headed to their 16th NCAA tournament. Selections will be announced at 9 p.m.
Kate Endres can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X at @Kate_e_endres.
