May 14, 2011

BALTIMORE, Md. - A four-goal Loyola run in the second half set-up a 14-7 win for the 6th-seeded Greyhounds knocking the UMass women's lacrosse team out of the NCAA Tournament First Round. Loyola, ranked fifth nationally, was led by Meg Decker's season-high five goals, while 13th-ranked UMass was led by Haley Smith'stwo goals. The Minutewomen finish the season with a 17-3 overall record - the second most wins in program history.

Katie Ferris and Tanner Guarino each had a goal and an assist for the Minutewomen, while Jackie Lyons, Jesse O'Donnell and Lauren Terracciano each scored one goal. Katie Florence took the loss in goal making nine saves.

Along with Loyola's (17-2) Decker, Mary Heneberry scored three goals, while Marlee Paton scored one and added three assists. Tewarraton finalist Grace Gave was held without a goal for the first time in 59 straight games, but did tie a team-high with three assists. Kerry Stoothoff made seven saves in goal for the win.

Paton opened the game's scoring giving Loyola a 1-0 lead nearly four minutes into play. O'Donnell responded for the Minutewomen just under two minutes later to tie the game with a free position goal.

The Greyhounds scored four straight after that before Lyons scored thanks to a nice feed from Ferris with 9:23 left in the first half making it a 5-2 game.

Each team traded goals to close out the first half with Loyola taking a 6-3 lead into intermission - just the third time this season UMass trailed at the half. Ferris notched her UMass single-season record 56th goal of the season to start the second half making it a 6-4 game with 25:32 left in the game.

Another four goal run by the Hounds, sparked by a pair of goals from Heneberry, stretched the lead to 10-5 with 14:21 remaining.

Guarino and Terracciano each scored in the later part of the second half, but Loyola followed each with a pair goals to keep stretching out the lead.

Haley Smith closed out the scoring with 1:43 left in the game with her career-best 36th goal of the season.

Loyola held a 31-to-25 advantage in shots, while UMass won the groundball battle 22-to-18. The Greyhounds also held a 14-to-9 edge in draw controls for the game. Turnovers plagued transition play for both teams with Loyola committing 20 miscues compared to 18 for UMass. The Minutewomen were 15-of-22 on clears, while Loyola was 13-for-21.

The loss was the first on the road for UMass this season (10-1) and snapped a 10-game win streak. The Minutewomen were making their fifth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and second in the last three years.

Release courtesy of Massachusetts Sports Information