MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – The RMU women's lacrosse team dropped to 3-8 overall and 1-2 in MAC play following an 18-6 loss to conference opponent UMass.
 
FIRST HALF
UMass grabbed a quick 2-0 lead to start the contest before the Colonials went on to score three unanswered goals. Madison Prietz recorded her sixth goal of the season, getting RMU on the scoreboard with an unassisted goal at 7:24 before Samantha Brothers tied the contest up at 6:46 with Taylor Burkett being credited with the assist. A goal by Gabi Puzevic off a Burkett pass gave the Colonials a 3-2 lead with 3:34 left in the first quarter. The Minutewomen would answer back with two goals of their own to close out the first quarter up 4-3.
 
A flurry of goals by the Minutewomen extended UMass's lead to 7-3 to begin the second quarter before Brothers ended the scoring drought with her second goal of the game off a Burkett pass, marking Burkett's third assist of the game, to make it 7-4 with 10:32 to go. UMass got another goal to make it 8-4 before Prietz recorded her second goal of the game, a woman-up goal to make it 8-5 with 7:28 to go. The first half ended with two more UMass goals, making it 10-5.
 
SECOND HALF
A quick goal at 14:27 by the Minutewomen made it 11-5 before Burkett answered with an unassisted goal of her own at 12:04 to make it 11-6. UMass went on to score four unanswered goals to close out the third quarter up 15-6.
 
The fourth quarter was all UMass as the Minutewomen put up three goals on offense while holding the Colonials to just four shots, with only two coming on goal, to secure an 18-6 win over the Colonials.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Taylor Burkett had a big day for the Colonials, recording five points on four assists and one goal on the afternoon. Burkett's five points and four assists are both season and career highs for the freshman from Perkasie, Pennsylvania. Samantha Brothers and Madison Prietz each recorded a pair of goals, while Gabi Puzevic tallied one. Prietz also recorded four groundballs, three caused turnovers, and four draw controls. Jenna Evans recorded a team-high six ground balls while Emma Hawks had five.
 
In goal, Lucy Carney got the start and was tagged with the loss, allowing 15 goals while recording three saves in just over 42 minutes of action. Katrina Bottomley came in as relief, recording three saves while allowing three goals.
 
Looking at team stats, the Colonials were outshot 37-17 by the Minutewomen, with 12 of RMU's shots coming on goal. UMass recorded 16 turnovers compared to the Colonials 14 on the afternoon. The Minutewomen controlled the ground balls (39-27) and draw controls (17-8).
 
For UMass, Kassidy Morris led the Minutewomen with six goals in the win, followed by Dylan Lyons with four goals along with two assists. Bayley Duffy went the full 60 in the net for the win. Duffy allowed six goals while making six saves.
 
UP NEXT
The Colonials (3-8, 1-2 MAC) will head back on the road next Saturday for a conference matchup against Kent State. First draw is set for 1:00 p.m. in Ohio.