VCU Snaps Women's Lax 61 Game A-10 Win Streak

RICHMOND, Va. - Despite a Holly Turner goal with one second left in regulation to force overtime, the UMass women's lacrosse team was unable to keep the magic rolling in overtime as VCU pulled off a 17-16 upset over the Minutewomen on the Rams' Senior Day. It marked the first league loss for UMass since falling 10-9 to La Salle on April 18, 2010 - a span of 2,926 days (eight years, four days) - and halted the Minutewomen's NCAA record for consecutive conference wins at 61 games.

UMass (12-4, 7-1 A-10) led by as many as five goals with 21 minutes in the second half after a back-and-forth first half. Kiley Anderson's man-up goal at the 21:16 mark gave the Minutewomen a 14-9 advantage.

But VCU (7-9, 5-3 A-10) scored four straight to pull back within a goal over the next 12 minutes. With 1:12 left in regulation, Sky Hyatt tied the game. Clare Murphy gave the Rams the lead with 21 seconds left in regulation after winning the draw control.

Following a UMass timeout, Hannah Burnett won the ensuing draw control which led to Turner's goal to tie the game 16-16 with one second remaining.

VCU started the sudden-death overtime with a free position goal that was high and a rebound shot that was forced wide before Kasey Keane was able to force a turnover to give possession to the Minutewomen. Burnett earned a free position attempt on the possession, but Ria Peralta made the save before Burnett then hit the post on a rebound attempt. Turner and Abby Walker fired off shots on the possession as the Minutewomen tried to score before the three-minute mark forced a re-draw after the field switch in the period.

The Rams won the re-draw to start the second period of the first overtime session. Hyatt's free position attempt with 1:58 to go sailed high, but Molly Barcikowski was able to convert the next free position chance 15 seconds later to give VCU the win.

Burnett finished the game with four goals for UMass, while Turner, Cerasi, and Anderson each had three goals. Turner added seven assists for a game-high 10 points while Cerasi added four assists to tie her career-high with seven points.

Turner's seven assists set a single-game record for UMass, while her 10 points tied the program's single-game record.

Anderson also finished the game with 12 draw controls, while goalie Lauren Hiller made 10 saves in the loss. Keane finished with a career-high six caused turnovers to also tie a single-game record while also scooping up seven groundballs.

VCU was led by six goals from Hyatt and five from Barcikowski who also added two assists. Peralta finished the game with 17 saves.

UMass led in nearly all statistical categories winning 25-of-35 draw controls and holding a 45-to-38 shot advantage. The Minutewomen were held to 1-of-6 on free position opportunities, while the Rams were 4-of-9.

The Minutewomen will have a chance to win the Atlantic 10 regular-season title and claim the postseason tournament's No. 1 seed next Saturday at Garber Field as UMass hosts Duquesne (Noon). The game will be streamed live on the Atlantic 10 Digital Network with a special Senior Day ceremony held following the contest.

For complete coverage of the UMass women's lacrosse team, follow the Minutewomen on Twitter (@UMassLacrosse), Facebook (@UMassWLacrosse) and Instagram (@UMassLacrosse) as well as online at www.UMassAthletics.com.

Scoreboard

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Team Stats

Hannah Burnett

Kaitlyn Cerasi

Holly Turner

Kiley Anderson

Players Mentioned

Kiley Anderson

Hannah Burnett

Lauren Hiller

Kasey Keane

Holly Turner

Abby Walker

Players Mentioned

Kiley Anderson

Hannah Burnett

Lauren Hiller

Kasey Keane

Holly Turner

Abby Walker

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics