Keene State Women’s Lacrosse played an in-conference game against the University of Massachusetts-Boston (UMass-Boston) Beacons to an 18-11 loss after a rough first quarter on Saturday, April 8. Both teams entered the game 2-1 in Little East Conference (LEC) play, with the Owls 5-7 overall and the Beacons 4-8. The Owls hit the turf following a 16-5 handling of in-conference opponent UMass Dartmouth. The Beacons arrived in Keene off a 17-9 win against Vermont State Castleton.
The Owls drew first blood less than a minute into the contest, with senior midfielder Tess Brown scoring the opening goal. The goal was her 28th of the season. The lead was short-lived, however, and the Beacons quickly snapped back with two goals in two minutes to take the lead. Two minutes into the quarter, Brown scored her second of the day to tie the game up. Unfortunately, the Beacons uncorked seven unanswered goals on the Owls to take a 9-2 lead by the end of the first.
UMass-Boston continued its scoring streak into the second quarter, scoring two more within the first five minutes of the quarter. Beginning to mount a response, Brown potted her third of the day to complete her sixth hat trick of the season. Junior attacker Hayden Smith followed up with her own goal. After another Beacons goal, sophomore midfielder Lola Varricchione put two in the back of the net in the last five minutes of the quarter to make the score 12-6 and bring the Owls within seven before halftime.
UMass-Boston brought its lead back to eight with a pair of quick goals early in the third quarter. Varricchione responded with two more goals of her own midway through the quarter, marking her 22nd and 23rd goals of the season. The Beacons capped off the quarter with a man-advantage goal, making the score 8-15.
The final quarter opened with sophomore midfielder Tilden Tinkham scoring less than two minutes in. The goal was Tinkham’s first of the season and of her collegiate career. The Beacons opened fire once more to score three more over the next six minutes, making the score 18-9. The Owls provided an answer with a third goal from Smith, completing her own hat trick. A last-minute goal from sophomore attacker Anna Maccarini was not enough to bring Keene State back as time expired and the Beacons won 18-11.
The loss sent the Owls to fifth in the LEC standings, dropping the team to 5-8, 2-2 in the Little East. The Beacons rise to 3-1 in conference, 5-8 overall. The Owls exclusively play conference opponents through the last four games of their season. Keene State next hits the field at home against Plymouth State for senior day on Saturday, April 18.
Frank LeBlanc can be contacted at
