Brown University Women’s Lacrosse Edges UMass Lowell, 5-4

Photo is courtesy of Brown University

LOWELL, Mass. – The Brown women's lacrosse team fought off a second half comeback by UMass Lowell to win the non-conference match-up, 5-4, on Tuesday night at Cushing Field. The Bears (5-7) scored all five of their goals in the first half while the River Hawks (1-13) tallied three of their four goals in the second period.

To start Brown's scoring in the opening half, freshman Zoe Verni (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) recorded her sixth goal of the season at 27:56 with the feed coming from senior Lauren Toy (Kentfield, Calif.). Toy then followed with the game's next goal (26:13), her team-leading 19th score, while senior Dianne Vitkus (Skaneateles, N.Y.) picked up the assist.

Verni tallied her second goal of the contest at 25:33 with junior Jillian Lee (Cold Spring Harbor,
N.Y.) registering the helper to bring Brown's lead up to three.

Junior Ali Kim (Burlingame, Calif.) next scored for the Bears, her first goal of the season, at 16:48. Fellow junior Kerianne Hunt (Alamo, Calif.) followed with a tally at 1:12 for her eighth goal of the season, moving Brown's lead to 5-0.

UMass Lowell got on the scoreboard right before the end of the half, with 15 seconds left (Kendyl Finelli).

Taylor Sokol started UMass Lowell's comeback at 24:33 to bring the score to 5-2. After a bit of a scoring drought, the River Hawks further chipped away at the Bears' lead as Noelle Lambert (7:29) and Kaylan Dimodugno (6:24) registered goals to pull UMass Lowell within one (5-4).

The River Hawks had possession for the last two minutes of play but Brown's defense held strong and senior Victoria Holland (Huntington, N.Y.) made a crucial save with 35 seconds left to lead Brown to the win.

Holland finished the contest with four saves while Courtney Barrett made six stops.

UMass Lowell held a slight edge in shots, 17-16, and draw controls, 6-5, for the game. The Bears were 16-for-21 on clears while the River Hawks were 11-of-16. Both teams were 0-for-2 on free position shots.

Brown will next play their final away game of the 2016 season on Saturday, April 16 at Columbia. The Ivy League contest will begin at 1:00 p.m.