WORCESTER, Mass. – An eight-goal second half sent women's lacrosse cruising past UMass Lowell, 13-5. Jolie Creo tallied her second-consecutive five-point outing with five goals and Grace Flink posted 18 saves for a .782 save percentage on the day. The last time Holy Cross started the season 2-0 was in the 2006 season.
 
Seven minutes into the game the River Hawks kicked off the scoring, but the Crusaders responded with two goals to take the lead and never looked back. At the 11:49, Creo scored with the help of Emily Culbertson to take a 2-1 lead. For the remainder of the half, Holy Cross outscored Lowell three-to-one to lead 5-2 at half time. Kara McDuffee picked up one goal and one assist in the first half. Flink made seven stops in the first 30 minutes.
 
The Crusaders rolled into the second half with a seven-goal run to take a 12-3 lead with 11:38 remaining. In that time, Bryn Carroll, Izzy Grant, and Mairead Anderson, Shannon Dudeck, and Creo all scored.
 
Lowell posted two more goals in 14 seconds to close the gap to 12-5, but Creo capped off the game's scoring with her fifth of the day and the team's 13^th.
 
CRUSADER LEADERS

• Kara McDuffee added a career-high three points with two goals and one assist. The senior attacker also posted two caused turnovers.
• Emily Culbertson posted two assists in the game.
• Haley Walker paced the Crusader defense with three caused turnovers and three ground balls.

 
NOTES & NUMBERS

• Seven Crusaders picked up a goal and eight tallied at least one point.
• The Crusaders outshot the River Hawks, 38-35.
• Each team grabbed 10 draw controls.

UP NEXT
Holy Cross returns on Feb. 20 when they take on Central Connecticut at 4:05 p.m. at Kuzniewski Field.