Women's Lacrosse

UMass Women’s Lacrosse Holds Off Dartmouth, 17-14

Story Courtesy of UMass Athletic Communications

HANOVER, N.H. – University of Massachusetts women's lacrosse built a five-goal cushion at the half that it would not relinquish, securing a 17-14 win over Dartmouth on Tuesday afternoon. With the win, the Minutewomen improve to 5-2 on the season, while the Big Green falls to 5-2.

Kassidy Morris led the way for UMass with a seven-point effort, logging four goals and three assists for a game high. Dylan Lyons followed with four goals and two assists for six points, while Ava Connaughton marked the Minutewomen's third four-goal scorer, adding an assist as well. Caitlyn Naughton chipped in with three points (2g, 1a) and Lil Hancock had six draw controls and two points (1g, 1a)

For Dartmouth, Madeline Egan (3g, 1a), Catherine Erb (3g) and Charlotte Myers (3g, 1a) all posted hat tricks and Katie Barr recorded four points on two goals and two assists.

Back-to-back goals from Naughton and Connaughton put UMass in front early, but Dartmouth responded with the next two scores to pull level at 2-2. The teams traded goals twice more in the opening frame to sit tied at four after the first.

Naughton put Massachusetts on top in the opening minute of the second quarter before Dartmouth took a brief 6-5 advantage with two tallies in 32 seconds. Lyons potted her first of the afternoon with 11:42 to play in the second, sparking an 8-1 run for the Maroon & White that stretched over 13 minutes of game time into the beginnings of the third quarter.

The Big Green ended the third with a 5-2 stretch to pull within 15-12 of UMass, but could draw no closer the rest of the way as the Minutewomen quieted the rally with goals from Connaughton and Lyons in the fourth.

UMass ended the day with a 36-33 edge in shots, while Dartmouth won the ground ball battle, 15-13. Bayley Duffy totaled 11 saves for the Minutewomen and Ruby Luken and Jordan Healy split time for the Big Green and made three and five stops, respectively.

Massachusetts will be back in action on Saturday, March 14, when the squad will travel to Youngstown State for its first Mid-American Conference matchup at 12 p.m.