The Massachusetts women’s lacrosse team pulled through an 18-10 victory over Akron on Saturday afternoon. Defense was the name of the game for the Minutewomen (10-2, 4-0 Mid-American) and the Zips (8-4, 3-1 MAC) as several turnovers led to opportunities for both teams to find the back of the net.
UMass defenders Cat Lucus and Heather Clark contributed six of the 12 caused turnovers, while Akron’s Evelyn White forced four of the 14 caused turnovers by the Minutewomen. In the first quarter, the Zips’ defense stripped UMass of the ball eight times, leading to several chances for Akron to capitalize on.
A dominant performance by Sienna Hinchcliffe kept the Zips in the game as the attacker sent six goals into the back of the net and contributed 12 of the 28 shots taken by the visitors. Two of Hinchcliffe’s goals came off a turnover recovery by Akron, capitalizing on those misplays by the Minutewomen.
“We just really have to clean a lot of turnovers up and just a lot of disciplinary situations,” head coach Jana Drummond said. “We wanted to be a little bit more in control of that game, and I felt like we gave [the Zips] a lot of different looks in there.”
In the second quarter, UMass found its feet as it slowed down the speed of the game, finding the back of the net seven times. Among these pace shifters was the Minutewomen’s Norah Prizzi, who contributed three goals in the game Saturday.
The attackers’ first goal of the game came off an odd man rush with 7:30 remaining in the second quarter. A pass by a forward for Akron got away from them, allowing Dylan Lyons to recover the ball and make a run down the field into the attacking zone. As Lyons entered the 12-meter fan, she passed the ball to Prizzi, who quickly released it over Adrianna Califano’s head.
The Kingston, N.Y., native’s third goal of the contest came early in the fourth quarter off a caused turnover by Lyons. Collecting the ball, Lyons made a run towards the net, shooting the ball that was saved by the Zips’ goalie. The rebound was knocked out to Kassidy Morris, who ran the ball into the 8-meter arc before passing it to Prizzi. Collecting the pass, the attacker sent the ball over Califano’s head from the top of the crease.
With 9:29 remaining in the third quarter, the senior would find the back of the net to give UMass the largest lead of the contest. Receiving a pass from Morris behind the net, Prizzi worked her way around the left post and in front of the net before ripping the shot over the goalie’s head and into the back of the net.
“[Prizzi] has just been such a calm presence out there, and I think putting her in there to be decisive, to find the back of the net, she’s very trusting,” Drummond said. “I know [assistant coach Lia LaPrise] does a lot with her at the crease, so she really executed that well today.”
The 5-foot-7 attacker also contributed three assists, all of which came on goals scored by Katie Onderdonk.
With less than 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Prizzi contributed her third assist when a pass from behind the net was collected by Onderdonk and sent into the back of the net from within the 8-meter arc.
The West Chester, Pa., native’s first goal of the game came in the high-scoring second quarter, with 7:12 remaining in the half. Prizzi made a pass over the net that was collected by Onderdonk and sent past Califano.
The Minutewomen will return to Garber Field to face off against Columbia University on April 7 at 1 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
Olivia Pang can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @OliviaPang18.
