DUDLEY, Mass. – The Nichols College women's lacrosse team opened the season with an 11-9 victory over visiting Lasell College Thursday afternoon at Vendetti Field. The Bison (1-0) were led by six points from first-year attacker Krista-Jean Forand (Plymouth, Mass.), who recorded four goals and two assists in her collegiate debut. Senior captain Jessica Porter (Melrose, Mass.) also recorded four goals.

Tina Canavan and Caitlyn Murphy led the Lasers (0-3) with three goals each, while Meredith Hessler added two. Lasell struck twice in the opening two minutes on goals by Hessler and Murphy, with Chelsea Caren assisting Murphy's tally at 28:16.

The Bison answered back with four-straight tallied, including three less than three minutes apart starting with Forand's first career marker at 19:37. Porter added the next before Emily Yourie (Ellington, Conn.) capped the spree with her first career goal at 17:51.

The teams traded goals before Lasell struck four-straight to end the half with an 8-6 lead.

Canavan put Lasell up, 9-6 less than three minutes into the second half, but Nichols rattled off five-straight, including three from Forand, to claim the 11-9 win.

Nichols netminder Mary Michaud (Agawam, Mass.) made 10 saves in her first collegiate win, while Kristin Corderre shouldered the loss with eight saves.

The Bison held a slim 20-17 advantage in groundballs and a 29-23 lead in shots. Lasell claimed a 17-5 advantage in draw controls, including an 6-1 lead in the second half.

Nichols is idle until Monday, March 23, when they open The Commonwealth Coast Conference action at Roger Williams at 4 p.m. Lasell hosts Anna Maria Monday at 3:30.

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