Box Score  

NEWTON, Mass. – It was an evening of firsts, won by the Eastern Connecticut State University women's lacrosse team Wednesday, whose 20-7 non-conference victory over the University of Massachusetts Boston presented first-year head coach Devyne Doran '17 with her first victory as the program's head coach, and handed the Beacons a loss in their first match on the intercollegiate level at Alumni Field on UMass Amherst's Mount Ida campus.

Doran, a former two-time Little East Conference Defensive Player-of-the-Year as a four-year player under former head coach Christine Hutchison, claimed her first win as Eastern's head coach four days after coaching her first game at Eastern in an 11-7 non-conference loss at Kean University.

First-year senior transfer Mackenzie Brown (Southington) needed only two saves to even her record at 1-1 and record her first win (third overall) since defeating visiting University of Hartford, 19-12, in an America East match as a freshman at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in March of 2021.

Wednesday, the Warriors piled up a 40-9 advantage in shots, with four of the Beacons' goals coming on five free-position shot attempts. Freshman Laura Falandys of UMB stopped 14 shots in her collegiate debut.
Led by seniors Jessie Pyrek-Bennett (Monroe) and Chloe Miller (Avon), 12 players contributed points in Eastern's 40-shot onslaught. Pyrek-Bennett had five goals and three assists, with Miller adding four goals and an assist, recording her 100^th career point with her third point of the evening. Senior Kaylee Drobish (Wallingford) chipped in two goals and two assists.

Drobish won four draws, Pyrek-Bennett picked up four ground balls and caused two turnovers, and junior Abby Parisi (Fairfield) collected three ground balls, won two draws, and caused two turnovers.

Sophomore Katie Campbell (Denver, CO) and first-year players Jenna Mahoney (North Reading, MA) and Sophia Ramino (Haddam-Killingworth) all recorded their first career points. Mahoney and Campbell each scored goals and Ramino picked up an assist.

After the Warriors scored the first five goals of the match – three by Miller – sophomore Mia Boyd connected for the first goal in UMass Boston women's lacrosse history -- an unassisted one with 4:23 left in the first quarter. Boyd led the Beacons with three goals. Sophomores Angelina Mazzone and Jamie McAleavey combined to win nine draws for UMB. An Original Six member of the Little East Conference, UMass is expected to become the ninth women's lacrosse-playing member in the spring of 2025.

Eastern returns to action Saturday at 1 p.m. at Mount Holyoke College (0-2), which is coming off Wednesday night's 13-4 loss at Nichols College. The Warriors are 7-2 all-time against the Lyons, including wins each of the past two years. Eastern opens its home season Friday, March 8 against Salve Regina University at 6 p.m. at Rick McCarthy Field.