University of Massachusets Athletics
Saturday, May 2
Moon Township, PA
12:00 p.m.
University of Massachusetts
17-2, 7-0MAC
15
vs
3
Akron (Championship Game)
12-6, 6-1MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akron | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Massachusetts | 6 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 15 |
Minutewomen Capture MAC Tournament Title With Dominant 15-3 Win Over Akron
May 02, 2026 | Women's Lacrosse
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – The top-seeded Massachusetts women's lacrosse team opened a 6-1 lead after one quarter and the Minutewomen wouldn't look back in a dominant 15-3 win over second-seeded Akron in the MAC Championship Game on Saturday afternoon. The win gives UMass the MAC Tournament Title in its first year in the conference, to go with its regular season championship. The Minutewomen, now 16-2 on the season, will await the NCAA Tournament selection show, set for Sunday at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
"It's an indescribable feeling," said redshirt senior Kassidy Morris. "It's hard to encapsulate everything we're feeling right now. We worked for this so hard all season long and it's something we had our eyes sight on ever since we moved to the MAC. It feels amazing that we finally succeeded."
The championship marks UMass' second straight after winning the Atlantic 10 title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament last season. On Saturday, the Minutewomen were playing in their 18th straight conference title game, dating back to the 2008 season.
The other All-Tournament Team honorees from UMass were defender Heather Clark, attacker Ava Connaughton, goalkeeper Bayley Duffy and midfielder Katie Onderdonk.
"This group has worked so hard," said head coach Jana Drummond. "I'm so proud of them. Nothing was given and handed to them. They worked really hard for everything. The family atmosphere and the unity they had as one was incredible and you saw that today."
Onderdonk finished off a stellar weekend with a career-high four goals. Katie Peterson scored three goals while Connaughton had two goals and an assist.
Bridget Valentine led the defense with three groundballs and two caused turnovers while Onderdonk caused two turnovers as well. Cate Marshall had 11 caused turnovers, her fifth straight game with double-figure draws.
"We played together, trusted the systems and the game plan," said Drummond. "They studied a ton. Having a quick turnaround from Thursday to Saturday for a championship, they were really dialed in for scout and everything that we threw at them. Really proud of them, to not only study it but also come out and execute today."
Akron got on the board at the 4:04 mark, but goals from Brigid Manning and Morris gave the Minutewomen a 6-1 lead after one quarter of play.
The Minutewomen scored the first four goals of the second half to erase any doubt, from four different goal scorers. Onderdonk's third of the day gave UMass two goals in 37 seconds, and a 12-2 lead with 13:05 remaining.
Akron scored at the 10:22 mark to snap a 24:27 scoreless drought, but two goals from Onderdonk, with a Lil Hancock goal sandwiched in between, wrapped up the 15-3 final.
"Everyone understood their role, bought into their role and executed perfectly the most we've ever executed," said Morris. "I was in a face guard, and every attacker was an offensive force today. Goalkeeper Bayley Duffy stood on her head and out defenders shut down top personnel. It was unreal."
Final shots were 36-20 in favor of UMass, with the Minutewomen holding a 19-14 edge in groundballs and 16-4 advantage in draw controls. Duffy finished with five saves, allowing just the three goals. Akron goalkeeper Adrianna Califano made six stops.
UMass will return to action next weekend in the NCAA Tournament. The Minutewomen will find out their fate on Sunday night.
Check out the postgame interviews with Heather Clark, head coach Jana Drummond, Katie Onderdonk, Kassidy Morris and Katie Peterson.
"It's an indescribable feeling," said redshirt senior Kassidy Morris. "It's hard to encapsulate everything we're feeling right now. We worked for this so hard all season long and it's something we had our eyes sight on ever since we moved to the MAC. It feels amazing that we finally succeeded."
The championship marks UMass' second straight after winning the Atlantic 10 title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament last season. On Saturday, the Minutewomen were playing in their 18th straight conference title game, dating back to the 2008 season.
Morris, named the Tournament's MVP, finished with four goals to reach 101 points on the season to tie her own program record set last year. She finished the tournament with eight goals and two assists. Morris has recorded a hat trick in 11 of the last 12 games, coinciding with the Minutewomen's 12-game winning streak.Bringing home some new @MACSports hardware. New conference, same result ?? #Flagship ?? pic.twitter.com/vCfMBvav08
— UMass Women's Lacrosse (@UMassLacrosse) May 2, 2026
The other All-Tournament Team honorees from UMass were defender Heather Clark, attacker Ava Connaughton, goalkeeper Bayley Duffy and midfielder Katie Onderdonk.
"This group has worked so hard," said head coach Jana Drummond. "I'm so proud of them. Nothing was given and handed to them. They worked really hard for everything. The family atmosphere and the unity they had as one was incredible and you saw that today."
Onderdonk finished off a stellar weekend with a career-high four goals. Katie Peterson scored three goals while Connaughton had two goals and an assist.
Bridget Valentine led the defense with three groundballs and two caused turnovers while Onderdonk caused two turnovers as well. Cate Marshall had 11 caused turnovers, her fifth straight game with double-figure draws.
"We played together, trusted the systems and the game plan," said Drummond. "They studied a ton. Having a quick turnaround from Thursday to Saturday for a championship, they were really dialed in for scout and everything that we threw at them. Really proud of them, to not only study it but also come out and execute today."
Morris opened the scoring just 26 seconds in. Peterson scored the next two goals, at 11:17 and 8:20, before Onderdonk's first of the game, assisted by Norah Prizzi, at 7:15 of the first quarter.NEXT STOP: NCAA TOURNEY ??@UMassLacrosse | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/f4xfKFAWTN
— MACtion (@MACSports) May 2, 2026
Akron got on the board at the 4:04 mark, but goals from Brigid Manning and Morris gave the Minutewomen a 6-1 lead after one quarter of play.
After more than 10 minutes without a goal to start the second, the Zips pulled within 6-2, but UMass got goals from Connaughton and Morris over the final two minutes to take an 8-2 halftime lead.Another hat trick in this one for Kassidy Morris ??#Flagship?? pic.twitter.com/vUDK1bwJnz
— UMass Women's Lacrosse (@UMassLacrosse) May 2, 2026
AVA ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!#Flagship ?? pic.twitter.com/uSGm1q0tzi
— UMass Women's Lacrosse (@UMassLacrosse) May 2, 2026
The Minutewomen scored the first four goals of the second half to erase any doubt, from four different goal scorers. Onderdonk's third of the day gave UMass two goals in 37 seconds, and a 12-2 lead with 13:05 remaining.
Akron scored at the 10:22 mark to snap a 24:27 scoreless drought, but two goals from Onderdonk, with a Lil Hancock goal sandwiched in between, wrapped up the 15-3 final.
"Everyone understood their role, bought into their role and executed perfectly the most we've ever executed," said Morris. "I was in a face guard, and every attacker was an offensive force today. Goalkeeper Bayley Duffy stood on her head and out defenders shut down top personnel. It was unreal."
Final shots were 36-20 in favor of UMass, with the Minutewomen holding a 19-14 edge in groundballs and 16-4 advantage in draw controls. Duffy finished with five saves, allowing just the three goals. Akron goalkeeper Adrianna Califano made six stops.
UMass will return to action next weekend in the NCAA Tournament. The Minutewomen will find out their fate on Sunday night.
Check out the postgame interviews with Heather Clark, head coach Jana Drummond, Katie Onderdonk, Kassidy Morris and Katie Peterson.
Team Stats
AKRON
UMASS
Shots
20
36
Turnovers
15
15
Caused Turnovers
7
9
Draw Controls
4
16
Free-Position Shots
3
4
Ground Balls
14
19
Game Leaders
G
4
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-120
GB
2
CT
0
G
4
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
2
G
3
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
2
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
1
Players Mentioned
D
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's Lacrosse
GK
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's LacrosseM
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
D
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