LOWELL, Mass. – Strong play at either end of the field propelled the Colgate women's lacrosse program to a 12-9 victory over UMass Lowell on Saturday afternoon.
After freshman
Jacklyn Hooey scored her first of three goals on the game's first free position shot to lift the Raiders to a lead just 1:07 in the game, the scoring alternated. Just 48 seconds after Lowell's equalizer,
Lindsay West regained the Raiders lead with another free position shot.
A key factor for the Raiders, Colgate's first four goals were generated from free position shots to fuel its 7-2 advantage heading into halftime. While Lowell responded intermittently, Colgate closed out the half on a four-goal run and didn't allow a goal to the River Hawks for the final 21:35 of the first half. A well-rounded Colgate offense featured six different goal-scorers on the stat sheet as the nonconference foes headed into the second half of action.
In a first half where she allowed just two goals against, goalie Sam Croston continued to be key for the Raiders. Lowell attempted to push back with a late offensive push, but Croston held strong to keep Colgate ahead by recording 14 saves on the day.
After the River Hawks marked four straight goals to close out the scoring, it was Colgate's early efforts that lifted the Raider to an eventual 12-9 victory. Ultimately, five Raiders had a multi-goal game while as a team Colgate hit double-digits on the scoreboard for the first time this season.
STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
• After notching her first career goal in her first collegiate game against Vermont, freshman
Jacklyn Hooey earned her second of the season early in the game. Her offense continued to roll, as she marked her first career hat trick and first career multi-goal game in her third game of the year.
• Junior
Lindsay West marked her first goal of the season after tallying eight in her sophomore campaign.
• After tallying a pair of goals against Binghamton (Feb. 20), junior
Alissa Masini followed it up with her second straight multi-goal game. Masini now holds four goals on the season and is on a two-game scoring streak.
• By scoring the Raiders 10th goal senior
Tara Atkinson earned her second straight game-winning goal. Atkinson's two-goal game paired with an assist marks her first multi-goal game of the season after posting seven in her junior year.
• Now on a three-game scoring streak junior
Noelle Patterson tallied two of Colgate's goals against the River Hawks. By scoring her fourth of the year and Colgate's ninth on the day, the midfielder earned her second career multi-goal game.
• Behind two goals and two assists sophomore
Danielle Van Calcar marked a season-high four-point performance. The Wyckoff, New Jersey, native posts a team-leading six goals and eight total points on the year.
• Junior goalie
Samantha Croston's 14 saves were two short of her career-high earned last season against Boston University (May 1, 2018). Croston was critical in Colgate's win as she faced 23 shots on goal. Her performance also included just two goals against in the first half.
• Colgate is now 2-0 all-time against UMass Lowell after starting the series last season. Both of Colgate's wins have come in 12-9 scores against the River Hawks.
• On the day, Colgate held a 12-11 edge in draw controls and 22-20 advantage in ground balls.
• The Raiders capitalized by scoring on four of their seven free position shots.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Colgate 12, UMass Lowell 9
COACH BEVILLE'S TAKE
"Today was another big team win for us. While we had too many turnovers and couldn't find a way to stop the UML run at the end of the game, there were some real positive takeaways. The fact that we had seven different people record a point is amazing and our defense has been playing great.
Samantha Croston had her best game of the season so far with 14 saves. We are looking forward to building off this winning momentum next week."
RECORD UPDATES
• Colgate improves to a 2-1 record overall on the season.
• UMass Lowell has an 0-4 start to the 2019 campaign.
UP NEXT
Colgate returns home as it hosts Siena in continued nonconference play on Wednesday, Feb. 27. First draw is set for 5 p.m. on Beyer-Small '76 Field.
FOLLOW THE RAIDERS
For more information on the Colgate women's lacrosse program, follow the Raiders on Twitter @ColgateWLax and on Instagram at ColgateWLax.
