UMass lacrosse: Top-seeded Minutewomen hold off St. Joseph’s, punch A-10 title-game ticket

The top-seeded UMass women’s lacrosse team advanced to the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship game with a 10-9 win over No. 4 St. Joseph’s on Friday afternoon in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The Minutewomen will look to re-claim the Atlantic 10 Tournament title on Sunday at noon against No. 2 Richmond, which beat them 20-13 in last year’s championship game. UMass won its 12th straight A-10 regular season title this year, extending a run of five straight unbeaten runs in regular season conference play.

After St. Joseph’s netted the opener, UMass scored seven straight to take a 7-1 lead with 3:11 left in the first half. They led 7-3 at the break. 

But the Hawks came back and tied the game 9-9 with 5:19 left. Less than a minute later, Fiona McGowan scored to put UMass up 10-9. St. Joseph’s had opportunities to tie the game in the final minutes, but UMass goalie Catrina Tobin made a pair of crucial saves to keep UMass in the lead. She finished with a career-high 14 saves.

Charlotte Wilmoth, Skylar Simmonds and McGowan shared the team lead with two goals each. Simmonds also registered two assists.

The winner of the Atlantic 10 Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, which begins May 10. The Minutewomen have reached the last three NCAA Tournaments. They last won an NCAA Tournament game in 2017.