Offensive Balance Leads Women's Lax To 23-13 Win At Saint Joseph's

Recap, photo courtesy of UMass

Minutewomen tally season-high goal total in Atlantic 10 opening win.
PHILADELPHIA - Four different Minutewomen notched three-or-more goals as the UMass women's lacrosse team opened Atlantic 10 play with a 23-13 road win at Saint Joseph's on Thursday afternoon. The victory extended UMass' NCAA-record league winning streak to 55 consecutive games thanks to the season-high goal total.

Hannah Palau scored a career-high five goals to lead the Minutewomen (6-3, 1-0 A-10) while Holly Turner led all players with a game-high seven points on three goals and four assists. The effort moved Turner into second all-time for career points (231). Kaitlyn Cerasi finished just behind Turner with six points on a career-high four goals while adding two assists. Hannah Murphy rounded out the top scorers with four goals while Ally Murphy had a career-best two as well.

In the draw circle, Kiley Anderson had another strong game winning a career-high 16 draw controls which is the second-most for a single-game in program history. Defensively, Kasey Keane led UMass with four caused turnovers and three groundballs.

Saint Joseph's (4-5, 0-1 A-10) was led by Rebecca Lane who matched Turner's game-high seven points with three goals and four assists. Stephanie Kelly and Bridget Cerciello each had three goals and two assists.

In goal, Lauren Hiller made six saves for the Minutewomen while her counterpart Liz O'Sullivan made 19 for the Hawks.

Overall, UMass held a 48-to-22 shot advantage in the game and won 23-of-37 draw controls thanks in part to the individual effort of Anderson.

After UMass led 12-6 at the intermission, Saint Joseph's pulled back within four to start the second half. A four-goal spurt featuring a pair of Palau goals pushed the Minutewomen's lead to 16-8 with 18:43 to go.

The Hawks pulled back within five late in the second half, but the Minutewomen netted the last five goals of the contest to secure the win.