Terriers Fall to No. 22 UMass, 23-13, in Home Opener

Sunday, February 28

Boston, MA

1 PM

Boston University

0-2

UMass

1-0

Massachusetts

Boston University

Photo by: Tim Carey

Terriers Fall to No. 22 UMass, 23-13, in Home Opener

February 28, 2021 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score Highlights Coach Morton Postgame

BOSTON – Facing its second ranked opponent in as many weeks, the Boston University women's lacrosse faded in the second half as it fell to No. 22 UMass, 23-13, Sunday afternoon in its Nickerson Field opener.

Claire Gola and Emily Vervlied paced the attack with three goals and two assists apiece while five Terriers recorded multi-goal efforts. Jennifer Barry was stellar on the draw once again, setting a new career-high with 10 wins, and Sarah Mazza led the team with three ground balls and two caused turnovers.

BU went back-and-forth with the Minutewomen as the visitors eked out an 11-8 advantage at the half. UMass started the second half with a 6-1 run as it pulled away down the stretch to take the win.

How It Happened

Lauren Kaye found Jennifer Barry right in front of the crease before Jennifer and Ava Barry worked the sister-sister connection to tie it up, 2-2.
Makenzie Irvine scored just 40 seconds after Barry to give BU its first lead, 3-2, with 24:32 remaining in the half.
UMass took advantage of turnovers and winning the draw, using a 5-0 run to take a 7-3 grip at the midway point in the first.
Vervlied got the Terriers back on track, striking with back-to-back goals to make it a two-game, 7-5.
Following a 2-0 streak by the Minutewomen, Kaye and Gola went for unassisted goals before Irvine dodged through a pair of defenders to make it a two-goal game once more, 10-8, though UMass struck in the closing seconds of the half to pull ahead by three at the break.
Kaye kept the Terriers within three by working from behind the cage for her second of the day with 25:48 to play, but UMass netted the next five over a six-minute span to break the game open.
Gola snapped the run with a free position strike and followed just over a minute later to maintain the single-digit deficit, 19-11, with 17:01 to play.
The Minutewomen added four straight goals until the Barry sisters connected again, and Vervlied netted the final goal of the day as the score finalized as 23-13.

Game Notes

Sunday marked the first time since the 2014 campaign where BU has opened up its season with back-to-back matchups against ranked opponents.
Kennady Smith earned her first start of the season in net, making five saves, while Arielle Hammer also saw time and recorded two saves.
UMass held a 21-17 advantage in draw controls and a 21-14 advantage in turnovers.

Up Next

The Terriers will return to the road as they travel to Vermont on Sunday, March 7.
Sarah Dalton Graddock '09, who owns BU's career and single-season goals and points records, is in her fifth season as head coach of the Catamounts.