LOWELL, Mass. — The Holy Cross men's lacrosse team defeated UMass Lowell, 16-9, on Saturday at Cushing Field.

Sophomore attackman Will Messineo led the way for the Crusaders (1-1, 0-0 PL) with four goals and an assist, followed closely by senior attackmen Matt Major and Cole Kratovil, who netted three goals and an assist each. Senior netminder Dawson Friers recorded ten saves on the day, while sophomore JR Long posted two in relief.

UMass Lowell (0-1, 0-0 America East) was led by Garrett Murphy, who posted two goals and an assist, and Colby Frigon, who netted two goals. Goaltender Mark Pav made 12 saves in the contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Major got the Crusaders off to a quick two goal lead, netting his first two scores in a 1:28 span. His second score was assisted by Kratovil.
• The Riverhawks recorded two of their own three minutes later to tie the game at 2-2.
• Messineo scored his first of the game, assisted by sophomore Julian Jenkins, at the 3:49 mark of the first quarter, before freshman Cooper Fallon picked up his first collegiate goal 24 seconds later to regain the two-goal lead.
• Lowell cut the lead to 4-3 with 1:34 remaining, but sophomore William Stahl found the back of the net with ten seconds to go to send Holy Cross into the quarter break with a 5-3 lead.
• The second quarter was dominated by the Crusaders, with the quarter going 6-2 in their favor. Lowell scored the first goal of the quarter, before Holy Cross went on a 5-0 run in a seven-minute span.
• The third quarter was quieter, with each team picking up two goals. Messineo picked up two goals in the frame, with one assisted by Major.
• Freshman Bo Webster picked up his first collegiate goal in his first collegiate contest with 11 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter that saw the Crusaders outscore the Riverhawks 3-2. Fellow freshman Will Deo assisted Webster's score, which was his first collegiate point of his career.

BEYOND THE BOX:

• Holy Cross held the slight edge in shots, 38-28.
• Friers and junior Matt Carbonell led the way for the Crusaders with five ground balls each.
• The Crusaders recorded 20 caused turnovers, led by junior Luke Shoemaker who posted four.

UP NEXT:

• Holy Cross will return home to face Sacred Heart on Saturday, Feb. 17.
• Game time is set for 12 p.m. at Kuzniewski Field.

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