DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Sophomore
Lily Nees lifts the UMass Dartmouth women's lacrosse team over Fitchburg State University, 14-13, in an overtime thriller on Tuesday night from Cressy Field. The Corsairs moved to 8-3 overall with the non-conference win against the Falcons who dropped to 1-9 on the season.
The Falcons scored four unanswered goals in the fourth period to tie the score up at 13-apeice and force the game into overtime. Nees won the opening draw control in overtime for UMass Dartmouth and darted straight to the Fitchburg State net. She then spun her way in front of the net and buried the ball into the top shelf to cement the Corsairs overtime victory by a final score of 14-13.
Despite a 10-4 lead at halftime, the Falcons made it a 13-9 game in the third period after outscoring the Corsairs by a 5-3 margin. First year
Claire Altshuler notched her second score of the night before first year
Kyra DiBiase and graduate student
Kyra Lyons added a goal each in the third to maintain a four-goal buffer.
UMass Dartmouth offense generated lots of attacking chances in the first half of the contest and held a 23-13 advantage in total shots. The Corsairs also found success from the draw control spot, winning 10 of the 16 draws in the opening half.
First year
Jenny Lipanovich opened the game by tallying a hat trick in the first period while first year
Jade Munoz, sophomore
Maddy Allen, and Altshuler each posted one goal apiece to give the Corsairs a 6-2 edge. Sophomore
Jennifer Lins produced her second goal of the season to get the Corsairs on the scoreboard in the second period. Lipanovich recorded her fourth score of the night before Allen tacked on a pair of goals to put the home team up 10-4 at the end of the second period.
UMass Dartmouth outshot Fitchburg State 34-28 in the contest while also holding a 20-14 edge in shots on-goal. The Falcons went 16-for-20 on clears while the Corsairs made 12-of-22 clear attempts. The home team won the ground ball battle after scoping up 24 and held a 5-3 advantage in free position goals.
Lipanovich ended the game with a team-high four goals along with one assist for five points. Allen recorded three goals in the win, marking her ninth game with three-or-more goals this season, while also winning a career-high 13 draw controls. Altshuler notched her fourth game with a pair of goals along with one assist for three points. Nees earned her first career game winner with her overtime score that marked her fourth goal of the season. DiBiase, Munox, Lyons, and Lins all recorded one goal apiece in the win.
First year goalie Keria Bushey secured her eighth victory in net for the Corsairs after posting nine saves and allowing 13 goals. Her counterpart ended the night with 14 total stops and allowed 14 goals in net for the Falcons.
UMass Dartmouth is on the road for their next Little East Conference game on Saturday, Apr. 5 against the University of Southern Maine. The league tilt is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. from Hannaford Field.
