LAWRENCE – There will be a fourth Finneran moving on to play collegiate lacrosse.
Over the weekend, Central Catholic senior Kerri Finneran, the Eagle-Tribune’s three-time girls lacrosse Player of the Year, announced that she will be playing the next four years at UMass.
“I am really excited for my decision to attend UMass Amherst to play lacrosse,” said the Andover resident. “UMass has a great lacrosse program and Jana Drummond has done a great job as a new head coach. I am excited that I am close enough to home so my family can see me play. My brothers Michael and Connor play lacrosse (at RIT) in Rochester, New York, which is a long drive but my oldest brother played Ryan at St Anselm and I liked that we could go watch his team play.
“Also, I plan to study in their business program.”
A three-sport athlete, who also excels in field hockey and basketball, Finneran helped the Raiders girls lacrosse team capture their first state championship this past spring. On the season, she took 142 shots and scored 101 goals, a 71 percent rate. She had 20 assists, 31 caused turnovers, 39 groundballs and had a whopping 199 draw controls.
In her four years of varsity lacrosse, including 48 goals as an eighth grader at Austin Prep, Finneran has 325 goals, 42 assists, 367 points and in three years at Central Catholic, she has 425 draw controls.
“Kerri’s commitment to UMass Amherst is a culmination of her hard work and dedication to the game of lacrosse,” said Central head coach Vanessa Pino. “She comes from a very close sport-loving family, the campus is close enough that she will have her family in the stands and I know how much that means to her.
“Kerri’s athleticism comes natural to her but what has separated her as a player is the work she puts in to sharping her skill set. Kerri deserves all of her recognition that she has received and I am so excited that she is playing at the elite level.”