MIDDLETOWN, R.I. – Despite an eight-point night from rookie midfielder
Maddy Allen, the UMass Dartmouth women's lacrosse team could not complete a comeback, falling short at Salve Regina University by a 15-10 margin on Tuesday evening. The Seahawks move to 4-0 on the season, while the Corsairs were appearing in their first game of the 2024 season.
It was a wild opening half of action with a combined 17 goals scored as the homestanding Seahawks owned a 10-7 advantage. The Corsairs opened the action quickly as senior midfielder and captain
Widline Thomas scored off a feed from Allen less than a minute into the game.
The Seahawks tied things up at 10:48 as Holly Sullivan buried a Kayli Garcia pass beyond the reach of Corsairs goalie
Kelsie Couto. That goal was part of a 3-0 run for the home team, which was finally halted at the 3:27 mark as Allen converted a pass from rookie midfielder
Tori Roberts for her first collegiate goal to make it a 3-2 lead for the home team.
Salve got goals from Garcia and Cameron Baston to make it a 5-2 game, but the visitors cut the deficit late as Allen scored with 31 seconds, followed by the first collegiate tally from first year midfielder
Lily Nees with 11 seconds on the clock as Salve took a 5-4 lead into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, a pair of scores in the opening two minutes from the Seahawks made it a 7-4 advantage, but the Corsairs answered as senior midfielder and captain
Melanny Sanchez Alvarez dropped in a pair of goals less than 10 seconds apart to close the gap to one (7-6) at 6:51.
The momentum was cut short as Salve Regina got three straight goals to build out the 10-6 lead, but Sanchez Alvarez scored her third of the contest in the final minute to send it into overtime with the home team up 10-8.
Third quarter action opened tight as neither team was able to find the back of the net through the first eight minutes of the frame. Salve answered the call at 6:44 as Edie Threshie scored on the man-up, which was followed three minutes later by a Baston goal for a 12-8 lead. With 28 seconds to go in the quarter, Allen found the back of the net for her second of the contest and a three-goal deficit for the Corsairs heading into the final stanza.
In the final period of play, the Seahawks got back-to-back goals from Baston less than two minutes apart beginning at 12:40. Despite several cards on the Corsairs, leading to solid possession for the Seahawks, Couto held strong in the UMass Dartmouth goal with three key saves, including one on the free position.
That momentum led to an Allen free position goal with 6:09 to play for the Corsairs, closing the gap to 14-9 in favor of the home team. Allen answered once again at the 4:12 mark, netting another free position goal, but the home team tacked on one more tally in the final seconds for the 15-10 final margin.
Baston led the Seahawks with five goals on six shots, adding a ground ball, two caused turnovers and four draw controls. Garcia dropped in a goal with four assists, while Stella McCormack had a goal, two helpers and five draw controls. In goal, Grace Haesche stopped 12 shots for the win.
The Corsairs were led by Allen, who paced all players with five goals and three assists in her collegiate debut. She also recorded a game-best four ground balls with two draw controls, going 2-of-4 from the free position. Sanchez Alvarez netted three goals, while Thomas paced all players in the game with six draw controls. Couto posted 14 saves in goal. It also marked the first collegiate points for Roberts, and first year attack
Jennifer Lins.
UMass Dartmouth returns to action on Thursday, opening its 2024 home slate on Cressy Field against New England College. Action begins at 4pm.
