MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — UMass (17-2, 7-0 MAC) defeated Akron (12-6, 6-1 MAC) with a decisive 15–3 victory at Joe Walton Stadium on Saturday to secure the program's first ever MAC Women's Lacrosse Tournament Championship. The Minutewomen secured the win with a strong first quarter, scoring six goals and maintaining a commanding lead throughout the game.
The first quarter began with Massachusetts taking control as Kassidy Morris scored the opening goal at 14:34, assisted by Dylan Lyons. The Minutewomen extended their lead with Katie Peterson scoring twice, once at 11:17 and again at 8:20, with Lil Hancock assisting on the first. The Zips managed to get on the board at 4:04 with Heather Carey scoring off a pass from Kaitlyn Sikorski. Massachusetts responded swiftly, with Brigid Manning finding the net at 3:20 from another Lyons assist. The quarter concluded with Morris adding her second goal at 12 seconds remaining, giving Massachusetts a 6–1 lead over Akron.
Akron's Kellen Fletcher scored at 4:59, bringing the Zips' total to two goals. Massachusetts responded strongly, highlighted by Ava Connaughton's goal at 1:35, her 30th of the season. Morris added another for Massachusetts at 0:37, bringing the lead to 8–2 by the end of the second quarter. Massachusetts maintained possession well, with Bayley Duffy securing two key ground balls, and Bridget Valentine winning a critical draw control to help secure the lead.
The Minutewomen extended their lead in the third quarter with two crucial goals, maintaining control over Akron. Peterson scored her 27th goal of the season at 11:08, capitalizing on a turnover to boost the home team's momentum. Morris followed with a successful free position shot at 5:53, marking her 71st goal of the season. Duffy played a strong role for Massachusetts by saving multiple shots, including a free position attempt by Akron's Katie Baumer at 8:31. Despite Akron's efforts, including a shot that hit the post by Sienna Hinchcliffe at 10:22, they failed to find the net, keeping the score at 10–2 in favor of Massachusetts by the end of the quarter.
UMass extended its lead decisively in the fourth quarter with a strong offensive display. Connaughton started the scoring with a goal at 13:42, followed by Katie Onderdonk's goal, assisted by Hancock, less than a minute later. Despite a goal from Akron's Carey at 10:22, Massachusetts maintained control, with Onderdonk scoring twice more, once assisted by Connaughton during a player-up opportunity at 8:53, and again with an assist from Scarlet Cifarelli at 1:31. Cate Marshall's dominance in draw controls contributed significantly to maintaining possession for Massachusetts throughout the quarter.
Postgame Comments
UMass head coach Jana Drummond
"Absolutely. I'm so incredibly proud of this group, you know, they've worked so hard out of season and just got themselves to a great position, and they're just a family. They're close knit, and they did everything we asked them of today.
"I think for us it's anything can happen. You see this season, there's a lot of upsets, so I think for us it was just a moment by moment, if you can be where your feet are, you're in a great spot. Really reminding them that this is a team, just play forward thinking and, just execute as one and play selfless, and they did that today. We're just proud of the effort and just proud of them locking in on the details and not thinking too far ahead at all.
"For us, we had a great matchup against them in season, they knew what to expect, they studied with a quick turnaround from playing a team Thursday. They were grinding on their homework, paying attention to what we needed, what we wanted to execute defensively. Bailey, Duffy, Cage helped us out a ton, defense was really connected, knew what to look for, prepared themselves well. I'm really proud of them.
"We've had such an awesome season. I think for me personally, continue to grow with these guys, keep them locked in on what we can do and keep them focusing on those little details of how to get better with us, for me, I know that there's someone up in heaven watching over me, my partner Mr. Gangis, he was with us all day today. all season. I think we just play for ones that are, maybe here, may not be here, and I think they just play for something bigger than themselves. I'm really proud of them and grateful for the absolute grateful for them."
UMass Top Performers
Cate Marshall
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- 11 draw controls
- 1 turnover
Ava Connaughton
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- 2 goals
- 1 assist
- 7 shots
Kassidy Morris
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- 4 goals
- 9 shots
- 7 shots on goal
Katie Onderdonk
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- 4 goals
- 6 shots
- 1 game-winning goal
- 1 player-up goal
Bayley Duffy
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- 5 ground balls
- 5 saves
- 3 goals allowed
Akron Top Performers
Heather Carey
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- 2 goals
- 3 shots
- 1 ground ball
Kaitlyn Sikorski
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- 2 assists
- 2 turnovers
Sienna Hinchcliffe
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- 6 shots
- 2 shots on goal
- 0 goals
Katie Baumer
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- 7 shots
- 2 ground balls
- 2 draw controls
2026 MAC Women’s Lacrosse All-Tournament Team
Katie Baumer, Akron
Sarah Baumer, Akron
Adrianna Califano, Akron
Kelsea Dague, Eastern Michigan
Mackenzie Blackwell, Eastern Michigan
Ava Connaughton, UMass
Bayley Duffy, UMass
Heather Clark, UMass
Kassidy Morris, UMass*
Katie Onderdonk, UMass
Mia Berthoff, Robert Morris
Lucy Carney, Robert Morris
*Tournament MVP
