Following an hour-long delay and a venue change, the No.18 Massachusetts men’s lacrosse team dominated UMass Lowell 18-8 for its sixth consecutive win this season. Three players scored hat tricks with goalie Owen Salanger continuing his elite sophomore campaign.
In the hours before game time, Garber Field received over four inches of snow, initially delaying the game by half an hour. Players returned to the field at 3:30 p.m. for warmups, and the decision was made to move the game to the bubble, with a new start time of 4 p.m.
The Amherst bubble has seen great success from the Minutemen (6-1), who also defeated Merrimack indoors, 16-5.
Junior Charles Kurtz thrives while playing in the bubble. He net a hat-trick against the Warriors and matched that with another three-goal performance against the River Hawks (2-2). Kurtz took 11 shots and notched an assist on Tuesday.
Jack Turowsky and Tyler Clayton were the other two hat-trick-scoring players for UMass. Turowsky added two assists in addition to his goals, and is up to a team-leading 27 points on the season. Clayton tied his career high in goals, which he set in his debut game with the Minutemen against Army last season.
Salanger has performed as one of the top five goalies in the country over the past few games. He’s made 55 saves in three contests for a 64.7% save percentage, ranking him third in the country. The sophomore goalie won Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week for his form in the past week’s matchups. Salanger made 13 saves against the River Hawks before backup goalie Ryan Mazzariello entered the game in the final minutes.
Salanger wasn’t the only UMass player to get a conference weekly award. Attackman Colin Coyle won A-10 Rookie of the Week for his seven-point production through the week. He led the team with four assists against the River Hawks, tacking on a goal as well.
Luca Duva found the back of the net twice for his second and third career goals. The sophomore attackman played in just two games last season and scored his first career goal a few weeks ago against Merrimack.
Despite the dominant victory, face-offs were once again a struggle for the Minutemen, winning just eight of 28. On the season, the team’s faceoff percentage sits at .365, ranking third-to-last in the country.
While face-offs are among the worst in the country, UMass’ defense is among the best in the nation. The Minutemen sit tied for eighth in the fewest goals allowed per game and average just under eight forced turnovers per game.
“Our defense has been really good,” head coach Kyle Smith said after last Saturday’s game against UAlbany. “We’ve cleared the ball, really pretty good against 10 men, and regular rides. Those guys [have] sharp skills, and then [Salanger] played great for us.”
Midfielder Zach Auble had six ground balls for the second game in a row. In his senior season, the defensive-minded midfielder has had a significant impact on the team’s strong defense. His four ground balls per game ranks 64th among all players in the nation.
UMass has one more game before A-10 play starts, a home game against Vermont. The game will be on Saturday, March 7, at 12 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Minutemen’s first A-10 opponent is High Point University, which beat UMass at Garber Field last season. Following that is the game that most people have circled, an at home matchup versus No. 2 Richmond.
Myles Donato can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @myles_donato.
