AMHERST — There wasn’t anything tangible on the line for the UMass men’s lacrosse team when it took to Garber Field Friday night against Hofstra.
The Minutemen had already secured the No. 1 seed in the CAA Tournament that they’ll host beginning Thursday, and the game didn’t affect their NCAA Tournament chances as they’ll almost certainly need to win the conference’s automatic bid to get in.
They were playing to keep the momentum of their winning streak alive, for bragging rights in the rivalry and to give their seniors a win on senior day.
But no complacency crept in as they played like a team competing with a sense of urgency. UMass scored 10 straight goals in a run that stretched from late in the first quarter to early in the third en route to a 14-6 win over Hofstra.
“You could have easily overlooked this. We’re home and don’t need this game. Our seniors and our captains have done a nice job all year,” UMass coach Greg Cannella said.
UMass trailed 3-2 when Billy Philpott scored his first of three in transition with 3 minutes, 39 seconds left in the first. Buddy Carr added his first of three 2 minutes later to put the home team up 4-3 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Hofstra wilted under the pressure of UMass’ transition. At one point the Minutemen tallied four goals in 41 seconds to take a 9-3 lead at intermission.
“We cashed in on opportunities and guys handled the ball well,” Cannella said.
They scored the first three of the second half before the Pride strung together three straight to make it 12-6 after three. But the Minutemen were in control for the entire final period and pulled away.
UMass won’t know its opponent in the semifinals of the CAA tournament until after Saturday’s Towson-Fairfield game has been completed. The Minutemen will play either Towson, Hofstra or Fairfield.
“We finished 10-4, but we want to put that behind us,” Carr said. “We’re 0-0 now. We’re not in the regular season anymore. We have to get ready for the next game. … We’re thirsty for that CAA championship. Hosting it is a big thing for us. Playing on Garber Field for us is a real treat.”
The Pride (6-7, 2-3 CAA) are in the midst of a down year, but despite their record they entered Friday’s action with the No. 1 goals against average in Division I at 7.17, led by senior goalie Jack Concannon (7.11).
UMass laid waste to those numbers. The Minutemen had eight before the second quarter was even half over.
Noah Rak’s 12 of 23 faceoff wins were pedestrian numbers for him, but he won six straight during the 10-goal run that helped seize control of the game.
Junior goalie Sean Sconone not only made 14 saves, but was effective converting those saves into transition.
The win and the margin of victory marked just how far the Minutemen have come since their season-opening 18-6 loss to Army and their 1-4 overall start.
“Starting out 1-4, there’s been tremendous growth. It’s mostly been the leadership,” Cannella said. “With Jake Lisauskas, Shane Rinkus and Isaac (Paparo) and the other seniors, there’s been a great sense of urgency.”
It’s the Minutemen’s first regular season title since 2012.
The cherry on top was the first career goal for senior Luc Valenza. The long-stick defenseman has been a key part of the UMass defense all season, but had never scored. Freshman Chris Connolly (two goals, two assists) found him in transition with just under 12 minutes left and he beat Concannon sparking celebration from the UMass bench.
“I wasn’t thinking about it. I was just thinking about doing our job on defense one stop at a time. When I ran up in transition, it popped in my mind a little bit. I was hoping. Luckily a I got the look.”
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage