Published: 5/5/2023 6:28:13 PM
Another dominant performance has the UMass women’s lacrosse team one step closer to an NCAA Tournament bid.
The top-seeded Minutewomen thumped No. 4 Davidson in the Atlantic 10 Conference semifinals on Friday, picking up a 15-8 win to advance to the conference title game.
UMass (16-1) will play either No. 2 Richmond in the championship game on Sunday at noon. The game will be broadcast on ESPN-Plus, and a win would punch an automatic ticket to the NCAA Division 1 Tournament.
It was the 15th consecutive victory for the Minutewomen, which haven’t lost since Feb. 15 against Boston College.
Fiona McGowan led the No. 1 seed in scoring with five goals and three assists, and Alex Finn added a hat trick and four assists for seven points of her own. The Minutewomen outshot Davidson 26-16 and had the clear advantage in ground balls, scooping up 16 compared to Davidson’s seven.
Goalies Gina Carroll and Catrina Tobin each played a half for UMass, making four saves apiece in the win.
The Minutewomen’s offense was active early and often in the first two quarters, netting five goals in both the first and second periods.
Kassidy Morris opened the scoring for UMass, and after trading goals with Davidson, the top seed held a slim 4-3 lead in the final minute of the first quarter. Kylee Bowen scored with seven seconds left in the opening frame to jump-start a 6-0 scoring surge for UMass, giving the club a commanding 10-3 lead with 4:21 left in the half.
Davidson scored once to cut that deficit to 10-4 at halftime, but UMass never let the Wildcats get back in the game in limiting them to four goals in the second half.