WOMEN'S LACROSSE FALLS TO UMASS DARTMOUTH IN SEASON-OPENER, 12-9

DARTMOUTH, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth women's lacrosse team scored seven unanswered goals to erase a first half deficit and defeat Emmanuel College, 12-9, Wednesday afternoon at Cressy Field. The Corsairs open the 2017 season with a 1-1 record while the loss moves the Saints to 0-1.

The Basics

Score: UMass Dartmouth 12, Emmanuel 9
Records: UMass Dartmouth (1-1) | Emmanuel (0-1)

How it Happened

Catrina Longo (Billerica, Mass.) registered a game-high seven points as she added on an assist to a goal by junior Erin Kish (Littleton, Mass.), who capped her game with a trifecta of goals and an assist. The senior duo of Taylor Hill (Braintree, Mass.) and Kathryn Gibb (Georgetown, Mass.) both recorded their first goals of the season, with freshman Sam Muir (Sturbridge, Mass.) tallying her second score in as many games.

Emmanuel was led by four players with two goals apiece, including junior Stephanie Warn (Hanson, Mass.) who also caused a game-high three turnovers on the defensive end. The Saints were backstopped by goalkeeper Bethany Bonilla-Colon's (Roslindale, Mass.) 13 saves.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair with teams trading goals until Longo found a cutting Muir at 14:42, who delivered the scored top put the Corsairs on top 3-2. Longo found the cage for the second time on the half six minutes later on the pass from Kish, bumping the hosts up 4-3 before Emmanuel responded with a three-goal stretch. Avery Yang (Lincoln, R.I.) potted back-to-back goals in less than 30 seconds, and Warn put in her first at 2:39 to steal a two-goal lead in favor of the Saints. As time ticked down in the first half, Kish scored to cut the Corsair to 5-6 at intermission.

UMass Dartmouth then firmly staked its control of the game in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, rattling off six unanswered goals including four by Longo. The senior tallied the first three scores of the frame in less than three minutes, gaining the two-point advantage back in favor of the hosts. Hill found the cage at 23:45, followed by Kish for a man-up goal at 21:30, and Longo bookended the streak with her final score after a long dry spell at 7:40.

Warn would finally get a shot by UMass Dartmouth goalkeeper Kaitlyn Burchill (Bridgewater, Mass.) with five and half minutes left, and Lindsay Curry (Pittsfield, Mass.) followed with another goal at 3:12, but Kish squashed any comeback with a security goal for UMass Dartmouth with one minute left.

Inside the Numbers

• Longo's six goals betters her previous career-high of five, which she reached on two separate games last season.
• The Corsairs commanded the middle on draw controls, capturing 15 to Emmanuel's eight on the game including nine in the first half alone. Gibb topped all players with five total draw controls, more than doubling any Saint's total.
• Burchill finished with nine saves, including six in the second half.
• UMass Dartmouth nearly doubled its offensive output from Saturday, firing 31 shots (25 on goal) while totaling only 18 against Johnson & Wales in the season opener.

Up Next

UMass Dartmouth will travel to Massachusetts Maritime Academy for a noon start on Sunday, while Emmanuel will head south for spring break, taking on Muhlenberg on Sunday at Hilton Head, S.C. at 11 a.m.

*Release courtesy of Umass Dartmouth Sports Information