University of Massachusets Athletics
Sunday, April 25
Philadelphia, Pa.
12 p.m.
University of Massachusetts
13-2 (8-0) A-10)
18
at
13
Saint Joseph's
9-6 (6-2 A-10)
1
2
F
Massachusetts
8
10
18
Saint Joseph's
5
8
13
Photo by: Jon Crispin
Women’s Lacrosse Completes Undefeated A-10 Season With Win At Saint Joseph’s
April 25, 2021 | Women's Lacrosse
Minutewomen finish 8-0 in league play following 18-13 victory over the Hawks on Sunday
MERION STATION, Pa. – University of Massachusetts women's lacrosse wrapped up an undefeated Atlantic 10 Conference season with its 18-13 victory over Saint Joseph's at Sweeney Field on Sunday.
Massachusetts concludes the regular season with a 13-2 overall record and an 8-0 mark in Atlantic 10 games. It is the ninth all-time season in which UMass went undefeated in Atlantic 10 play alongside the 2011-17 and 2019 campaigns. Saint Joseph's fell to 9-6 overall and 6-2 in league play. Both of the Hawks A-10 losses were to the Minutewomen.
The win also marked Massachusetts' 12th consecutive victory. It is the longest win streak since the 2017 Minutewomen won 16 straight games and the eighth all-time winning streak of 12 or more games.
Haley Connaughton paced UMass with seven points via five goals and two assists while Kaitlyn Cerasi scored three times and dished out one assist. Stephanie Croke made an impact in all facets of the game with three goals, four groundballs, four caused turnovers and three draw controls.
Kelly Marra and Maddy Moloney also had three points apiece – with Marra contributing two goals and an assist and Moloney earning her points via a trio of goals. Olivia Muscella scored twice and Alex Finn rounded out the UMass points producers with an assist.
Caitlyn Petro continued her ascent toward the UMass single-season draw controls record with against the Hawks. She ended the day with 200 draw controls won in 15 games this year, which is only 13 shy of eclipsing current assistant coach Hannah Murphy's record of 212 set in 2017.
Lauren Hiller earned the win with seven saves between the pipes.
Massachusetts continued the offensive and defensive mastery it maintained throughout the 26-2 win over St. Bonaventure early on during Sunday's win at Saint Joseph's. The Minutewomen pumped in five consecutive goals during the opening minutes against the Hawks and built a 6-1 lead midway through the first half.
Connaughton conducted the offense as she dished out two assists and scored twice en route to the team's early five-goal lead. Her second tally of the day made it 6-1 as Connaughton isolated her defend, raced toward the left pipe and slipped a shot over the shoulder of Saint Joseph's goalie Melissa Semkiw and into the back of the net.
The Hawks cut their deficit to a pair as Semkiw stifled the UMass offense for nearly 16 minutes after Massachusetts' sixth goal of the day. Semkiw offset Massachusetts' decisive possession and shots advantages with 17 saves, including a dozen during the opening half. Despite this, UMass built its lead back to 8-5 before halftime as Petro won draw after draw and the Minutewomen earned shot after shot.
SJU got back within two only to see Connaughton and Moloney double the UMass advantage in the span of 39 seconds. Connaughton scored first on a free position attempt – her 35th goal of the year – with 28 minutes, 25 seconds to play. After Petro won another draw, Moloney struck for her first of the afternoon at the 27:46 mark.
The back-and-forth battle continued until Saint Joseph's Julia Pash committed a two-minute, non-releasable penalty and was sent off with a yellow card. During the man-advantage, Massachusetts scored four times as Connaughton, Moloney (twice) and Muscella connected in the span of 65 seconds.
Moloney's second of the quick-strike scoring streak made it 14-8 Minutewomen as Moloney collected a loose ball in front and slammed home a shot at the crease with 18:53 still to play.
The Minutewomen built their lead as large as seven, though a four-goal run by SJU cut the margin back down to 15-12 with 10:27 left. However, the Hawks moved no closer than within three the remainder of the way.
Massachusetts led in shots, 44-22, shots on goal, 35-20 and free-position shots, 10-4. The Minutewomen also held the margin in draw controls, 25-8 while the teams tied with 13 groundballs each. Saint Joseph's turned the ball over more, 16-12 but also had more caused turnovers, 7-6.
The Atlantic 10 Conference will announce detailed information for its 2021 Women's Lacrosse Championship at a later date. Massachusetts will learn its next opponent, and potential hosting responsibilities, at that time.
Follow Massachusetts women's lacrosse on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@UMassLacrosse).
Massachusetts concludes the regular season with a 13-2 overall record and an 8-0 mark in Atlantic 10 games. It is the ninth all-time season in which UMass went undefeated in Atlantic 10 play alongside the 2011-17 and 2019 campaigns. Saint Joseph's fell to 9-6 overall and 6-2 in league play. Both of the Hawks A-10 losses were to the Minutewomen.
The win also marked Massachusetts' 12th consecutive victory. It is the longest win streak since the 2017 Minutewomen won 16 straight games and the eighth all-time winning streak of 12 or more games.
Haley Connaughton paced UMass with seven points via five goals and two assists while Kaitlyn Cerasi scored three times and dished out one assist. Stephanie Croke made an impact in all facets of the game with three goals, four groundballs, four caused turnovers and three draw controls.
Kelly Marra and Maddy Moloney also had three points apiece – with Marra contributing two goals and an assist and Moloney earning her points via a trio of goals. Olivia Muscella scored twice and Alex Finn rounded out the UMass points producers with an assist.
Caitlyn Petro continued her ascent toward the UMass single-season draw controls record with against the Hawks. She ended the day with 200 draw controls won in 15 games this year, which is only 13 shy of eclipsing current assistant coach Hannah Murphy's record of 212 set in 2017.
Lauren Hiller earned the win with seven saves between the pipes.
Massachusetts continued the offensive and defensive mastery it maintained throughout the 26-2 win over St. Bonaventure early on during Sunday's win at Saint Joseph's. The Minutewomen pumped in five consecutive goals during the opening minutes against the Hawks and built a 6-1 lead midway through the first half.
Connaughton conducted the offense as she dished out two assists and scored twice en route to the team's early five-goal lead. Her second tally of the day made it 6-1 as Connaughton isolated her defend, raced toward the left pipe and slipped a shot over the shoulder of Saint Joseph's goalie Melissa Semkiw and into the back of the net.
The Hawks cut their deficit to a pair as Semkiw stifled the UMass offense for nearly 16 minutes after Massachusetts' sixth goal of the day. Semkiw offset Massachusetts' decisive possession and shots advantages with 17 saves, including a dozen during the opening half. Despite this, UMass built its lead back to 8-5 before halftime as Petro won draw after draw and the Minutewomen earned shot after shot.
SJU got back within two only to see Connaughton and Moloney double the UMass advantage in the span of 39 seconds. Connaughton scored first on a free position attempt – her 35th goal of the year – with 28 minutes, 25 seconds to play. After Petro won another draw, Moloney struck for her first of the afternoon at the 27:46 mark.
The back-and-forth battle continued until Saint Joseph's Julia Pash committed a two-minute, non-releasable penalty and was sent off with a yellow card. During the man-advantage, Massachusetts scored four times as Connaughton, Moloney (twice) and Muscella connected in the span of 65 seconds.
Moloney's second of the quick-strike scoring streak made it 14-8 Minutewomen as Moloney collected a loose ball in front and slammed home a shot at the crease with 18:53 still to play.
The Minutewomen built their lead as large as seven, though a four-goal run by SJU cut the margin back down to 15-12 with 10:27 left. However, the Hawks moved no closer than within three the remainder of the way.
Massachusetts led in shots, 44-22, shots on goal, 35-20 and free-position shots, 10-4. The Minutewomen also held the margin in draw controls, 25-8 while the teams tied with 13 groundballs each. Saint Joseph's turned the ball over more, 16-12 but also had more caused turnovers, 7-6.
The Atlantic 10 Conference will announce detailed information for its 2021 Women's Lacrosse Championship at a later date. Massachusetts will learn its next opponent, and potential hosting responsibilities, at that time.
Follow Massachusetts women's lacrosse on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook (@UMassLacrosse).
Team Stats
UMASS
SJU
Shots
44
22
Turnovers
12
16
Caused Turnovers
9
8
Draw Controls
25
8
Free-Position Shots
10
4
Ground Balls
13
14
Game Leaders
Players
G
5
A
2
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
3
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
4
CT
4
G
3
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
1
G
3
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
3
CT
0
Players Mentioned
A
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's LacrosseM
/ Women's Lacrosse
GK
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's LacrosseA
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