This weekend, the No. 22-ranked women鈥檚 lacrosse team (6-2, 0-1 Ivy League) continued their blazing hot start to the season, notching a home win against the University of Massachusetts Lowell (8-1) at Stevenson-Pincince Field. After the Bears鈥� heartbreaking loss to No. 5 Notre Dame (6-2) during the midweek matches, they flipped the script to bring together a late, come-from-behind rally to take down the River Hawks.
Entering the game undefeated, the River Hawks were not going to be a pushover for Head Coach Katrina Dowd鈥檚 rejuvenated Bears team. But after a hard-to-swallow midweek loss, the Bears only had one thing on their mind: redemption.
In a game led by Mia Mascone 鈥�24 鈥� the team leader in offense with 53 points on the season 鈥� Bruno鈥檚 offense was firing on all cylinders. Mascone鈥檚 phenomenal offensive play in the matches against Lowell and Notre Dame earned her her third Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week award on Monday.
Eager for possession, the Bears won 24 of the 33 draw controls, dealing them dominant control during the match.
Mascone fired in six goals and assisted on three more, putting her now in the all-time top 10 for points earned in Bears program history, totaling 137.
鈥淚 didn't know I did that! I am just really excited for our next game at Columbia and keeping the focus on getting better as a team,鈥� Mascone wrote in an email to The Herald.
Annie Burton 鈥�25 鈥� who is second on the team for points 鈥� and Julia Ford 鈥�24 grabbed two goals each, while Leah Caputo 鈥�24.5 finished the match with a hat trick.
鈥淥ffensively, our coaches have done a great job keeping things simple and clearly defining each attacker's role on the field,鈥� Mascone wrote. 鈥淚t's been a lot of fun to play for and learn from them.鈥�
While the Bears would win the day, they started lackadaisical, conceding to the River Hawks twice within the first three minutes of play. But by five minutes into the game, goals from Mascone and Burton put Bruno right back into contention.
Both of Bruno鈥檚 first two goals came immediately after free-position shot attempts. Free-position shots became a pervasive issue for the Lowell backline, who conceded nine during the game, practically feeding the Bears shot-on-goal attempts.
After two more Lowell goals put Bruno under the talons of the River Hawks, a goal from Caputo opened the floodgates. The game quickly became a parade of Bruno shots; two more goals from Caputo and one each from Carly Camphausen 鈥�24.5, Burton and Mascone put the Bears up 8-4. Lowell scored one more time but was in a bad position coming out of the Bears鈥� late rout.
When a free-position shot from Mascone found its way into the back of the net, it looked like all the momentum, scoring and glory was destined for Bruno. But almost immediately, the Bears鈥� offense stalled out, and the River Hawks capitalized. The Bears could not finish any of their chances in the second quarter, while Lowell carved the defense to shreds, scoring three and reaching grabbing range of Bruno鈥檚 seemingly dominant lead.
Bruno didn鈥檛 manage to pick it back up in the third quarter either. Lowell scored three times to take an 11-9 lead. Bruno scrambled together a goal from the free position with about five minutes to play to get back within one. Just as Bears fans breathed their sigh of relief, Lowell took the point back bringing the lead back to two.
鈥淟acrosse is a game of runs,鈥� Mascone wrote. 鈥淚 think we tried to just play our game regardless of the time on the clock or the score on the board. But, of course, when it's the fourth quarter you need to make plays and a lot of our players understood that.鈥�
And understand they did. After back-to-back quarters in which they only scored once, Bruno put together a five-goal quarter to steal back their victory.
The Bears got back within the reach of Lowell with a Ford goal to open the fourth.
Mascone went on to tie it, then turned around 40 seconds later, scored again and took the lead for the Bears. A goal by Greta Criqui 鈥�25 gave the Bears a little bit of breathing room, stretching their advantage to two goals at 14-12.
In the final minutes of the game, the River Hawks traded goals with the Bears, holding onto the same deficit, and Bruno prepared for an intense end to the game. The River Hawks took one back and the Bears looked to be in a bit of trouble.
With 1:42 to play, Lowell won the draw control and drove hard at Bruno鈥檚 defense. Passing around quickly, they found an attacker on the right side of the net. Knowing that low shots had slipped goalie Claire Mahoney 鈥�26 more than once today, Lowell fired low and Bears fans held their breath. From the edge of their seats, 337 lacrosse fans watched Mahoney drop down and make a clutch save that likely won the game for the Bears.
Dowd called two timeouts at the end of the game to help with the clearance effort, and at the final whistle, Bruno handed Lowell their first loss of the season.
Brown looks to continue this momentum into Ivy League play against Columbia this Saturday in New York. The event will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Dennis Carey is a Sports Editor who enjoys playing volleyball, listening to and collecting vinyl records, and poorly playing the guitar in his spare time.
