Defense Nails Down 14-4 Men’s Lacrosse Win Over UMass Lowell

Recap, photo courtesy of UMass

Massachusetts allows season-low in goals, secures fourth victory of season

AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts men's lacrosse defense stymied UMass Lowell throughout play at Garber Field on Tuesday en route to a 14-4 victory over the visiting-River Hawks. The Minutemen caused 10 turnovers and eight failed clears by UMass Lowell, while senior faceoff specialist Tom Meyers won possession over and over for the Minutemen to the tune of a 15-for-19 outing (.789) with seven groundballs on the day.

Goalie Sean Sconone was steadfast in net as the senior turned aside nine shots and only allowed a pair of goals in nearly 54 minutes of action before sophomore Hampton Brannon rotated into the lineup in cage.

Senior Isaac Paparo led the defensive effort in front of Sconone with a pair of caused turnovers and seven groundballs as the group limited UMass Lowell to just eight shots in the first half and 23 total on the day.

Midfielders Charlie O'Brien (3), Billy Philpott (2) and Jeff Trainor (1) added a combined six caused turnovers as Massachusetts caused havoc in the middle of the field. The trio added nine groundballs, led by six from Trainor.

Freshman attack Gabriel Procyk and position-mate Devin Spencer totaled hat tricks, while Procyk chipped in one assist for a game-high-tying four points. Trainor also had four points on a goal and three assists.

Massachusetts received multi-point outing from five more Minutemen as the offense shared the ball consistently throughout the game. Sophomore midfielder Kevin Tobin had three points on a pair of scores and one assist. Freshman midfielder Scott Del Zotto and Paparo also posted two goals apiece while junior attack Nick Roy dished out two assists.

Philpott, a redshirt junior two-way player, added an assist, as did rookie midfielder Kevin Cutinella.

The Maroon and White controlled play early en route to a 4-0 lead after one quarter. Four different goal scorers created the lead as Trainor, Devin Spencer, Del Zotto and Procyk fired in tallies during the first, in which the defense held the River Hawks to just two shots.

Cory Highlfield, UMass Lowell's leading scorer with three points on two goals and an assist, snapped the River Hawks' scoreless streak with 13 minutes, 14 seconds to go in the second. However, Massachusetts responded with a five-goal run stretching into the third quarter as the Flagship Campus pushed ahead, 9-1.

Paparo highlighted the run with a pair of goals while Del Zotto, Devin Spencer and Tobin also rippled the netting during the span.

Highfield again ended the UMass scoring streak when he scored man-up with 4:24 to go in the third, but the Massachusetts offense continued to thrive against the River Hawks' defense with another five-goal run that expanded the lead to 14-2 entering the final stages of play.

Trainor slotted back-to-back passes to Devin Spencer and Procyk as Spencer earned his second consecutive hat trick. After a man-up goal by Ben Spencer with 10:01 to go extended the advantage to double-digits, Procyk totaled his fifth hat trick in seven career games when Cutinella found Procyk open for his third strike of the afternoon.
  Ben Spencer capped the run with his second of the day, also on the man-up, when Procyk found Spencer in space for a step-down blast.

Grant Lardieri took the loss in net for the River Hawks with 14 goals allowed versus 12 saves during 52:22 in cage. Matt Murakami stepped between the pipes for the final 7:38 of game action, but did not face an on-target shot.

Massachusetts led UMass Lowell in shots, 44-23, shots on goal, 26-13 and groundballs, 45-26. The Maroon and White also won 17 of the game's 22 faceoffs (.773) and finished 13-of-13 on clears. Sophomore Tyler Green added two faceoff victories in three changes for the home side in addition to Meyers' efforts. UMass Lowell ended the day 16-for-24 clearing the ball and committed 21 turnovers to 19 by the Minutemen.

The Maroon and White continues their four-game homestand at Garber Field on Sun., March 17 against first-year NCAA Division I program Utah (4-3 overall). First faceoff is set for Noon.