PHILADELPHIA – No. 14 Massachusetts used their high-powered offense to stay unbeaten in Atlantic 10 conference play, beating La Salle lacrosse 19-5 in the Explorers' home finale on Thursday afternoon.
 
Six-different Minutewomen tallied multiple goals as UMass improved to 7-0 in conference play. Emily Johnston and Kiki Venza each tallied two goals for La Salle, while Maddie Henderson added her 21^st of the season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Minutewomen offense started the game red-hot on Thursday, scoring the first seven goals of the opening period to take a 7-0 lead just 8:17 into the game.
• Haley Connaughton was integral in that run for UMass, scoring a goal and added two assists in the first 4:17 of the match.
• Kiki Venza stopped the UMass run with her 13^th goal of the season before added her second of the game with four seconds left in the quarter after another pair of Minutewomen goals as UMass held a 9-2 lead after one.
• The Minutewomen dominated the second period of action, outscoring the Explorers 5-0 in the frame while holding a draw control advantage of 5-1 and shots edge of 9-3. Five different players score the goals for UMass, who went into the halftime break with a 14-2 lead.
• Both offenses struggled to gain traction in the third, as Henderson scored for La Salle while Kylee Bowen added a goal for UMass as there were just two goals in the third period.
• The teams got back on track in the fourth, as UMass added four more goals while La Salle notched a pair, both off the stick of Johnston, to bring the final to 19-5.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• With two more goals on Thursday, Johnston extended her team-high total to 36. The fifth-year senior also recorded four draw controls and a caused turnover, giving her season marks of 61 draw controls and 21 caused turnovers.
• Henderson added a goal, caused turnover and three draw controls of her own, giving her top-two team rankings in all three categories.
• Venza tallied a goal in her fourth-consecutive game, and has now tallied multiple goals in three of her last four games and five times this season.
• Two freshmen made their collegiate debuts for La Salle in defender Kristin Catando and goalkeeper Casey Gallagher. Gallagher played 8:59 in goal, picking up the first save of her career.
• The Explorers used three goalies for the first time in 2022, combining to make six saves.
• On defense, Raquel Nieves scooped up a career-best five groundballs while Jess Hewitt added three. Liza Dellaratta forced two turnovers for the fourth time this season, while Emily Camuti secured a ground ball.
• UMass held the edge in shots (31-12), ground balls (20-16) and draw controls (19-8).

 
UP NEXT:
With their 2022 home slate in the books, La Salle will be back on the road for their final two games starting with George Mason on Saturday, April 16 at 12 pm.