AMHERST – No pass is safe around UMass senior defender Audra Tosone.

The Walpole native ranks seventh in Division I women’s lacrosse and leads the Atlantic 10 forcing 2.5 turnovers per game. She’s won four Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week awards and pulls up 3.07 ground balls per game (No. 11 nationally).

“A lot of it comes with trusting yourself and your teammates. When I go out there I know it’s a high risk, high reward play,” Tosone said. “If I’m rewarded, it’s gonna go my way, if it’s a risky play that doesn’t end up going well I’m going to have those second slides.”

Tosone’s numbers stand out, but she couldn’t range and harass without UMass’ other defenders covering her.

“We’re a united defensive front. We have each other’s backs. We communicate well,” she said. “A huge portion of defensive success is communication. When we’re talking, we’re hot, when we’re not talking that’s when you see those fall through.”

Not much gets through the 13th-ranked Minutewomen (13-1, 7-0 Atlantic 10) lately. They’ve won 12 games in a row and only lost against No. 5 Boston College on Feb. 15. UMass ranks fourth in the country allowing just 7.64 goals per game. They’ve held their last seven opponents to single digits on the scoreboard. The Minutewomen travel to Saint Joseph’s (9-6, 6-1) at noon Saturday.

“It is a lot of behind the scenes and little things that go into defense. There’s not a lot of stats, there’s not a lot of fame and spotlight,” UMass coach Jana Drummond said. “It’s that mindset that’s tough. You get what you’re given and you work with it.”

Tosone didn’t come to UMass as a defender. She matriculated from Walpole a two-time U.S. Lacrosse Girls High School All-America selection, a three-time state champion and the Boston Globe’s Will McDonough Female Athlete of the Year playing as a midfielder. The Minutewomen switched her to defense within a few months.

“I took it and ran with it because I have always loved playing defense. I love being gritty, aggressive. I love getting those turnovers and stopping top attackers. I think that’s super fun and something I find success in,” Tosone said. “I’m a competitive person. I like to succeed in everything I do. I don’t like failing. With failing you can see growth and you can learn from it.”

That attitude meshes perfectly with the Minutewomen, a group that competes for everything — even who will be first in line for ice cream. Part of the reason their defense has been so strong is it needs to face UMass’ offense every day in practice. Three Minutewomen have at least 30 goals: Charlotte Wilmoth (35), Alex Finn (32) and Fiona McGowan (32) and three more have at least 20. McGowan leads the team with 34 assists and 66 points, while Finn has added 26 assists.

UMass ranks 10th in the country scoring 15.71 goals per game, and its scoring margin of 8.07 goals per game is third nationally. The Minutewomen distribute eight assists per game (seventh in the nation).

“They’re high IQ, they move the ball well and they have great stick work. For us defensively, we’ve got to stay ahead of what they’re trying to do,” Drummond said. “If we didn’t have a strong offensive force and a versatile offense, we’d get stuck in the monotonous, feel out defense.”

Tosone and UMass’ defenders also sharpen the Minutewomen’s attackers to push the whole team forward.

“When we play our team that’s some of the best competition we’re going to see... remembering that when we’re practicing is super important,” UMass midfielder Amy Moreau said. “Every time we go out on the field, there’s no rankings. At halftime, the score’s 0-0. We watch film on these players, and we see them at their best. At any given day we could see a team’s best game. If we don’t respect them that could bite us in the butt.”

It’s a fresh sentiment for the Minutewomen who lost in last season’s A-10 championship game as the top seed at home after a 13-game winning streak and unbeaten run through the conference. Sound familiar?

“We’ve always had a target on our back even since before I got here. That’s just the way UMass has been in the A-10,” Moreau said. “That’s something we pride ourselves on. We love to go out there every day and night to continue to prove why we’re the best.”

Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.]]>