Winter Watch: UMass knows the 2021 season won’t come easy

Greg Cannella's UMass team was 5-2 with an upset of then-No. 1 Yale when last season was halted. (Thom Kendall/UMass Athletics)

The last time we saw the UMass men’s lacrosse team on the field, head coach Greg Cannella’s team won its fourth straight game, 14-10 over Long Island University.

That stretch included the season’s signature win, a 13-10 upset of then-No. 1 Yale, the first time the program had ever taken down a top-ranked team. Senior Billy Philpott (Sandwich, Mass.) scored a career-high four goals and freshman goalie Matt Knote made a dozen saves.

When COVID-19 halted the campaign at 5-2, there was a heavy sense of what might have been. There was also optimism for the year ahead.

“Obviously, it’s reserved optimism,” Cannella said. “In the beginning of the season last year we had our ups and downs, so you can’t just expect to come back and hit the ground running.”