BEVERLY, Mass. – Juniors Kaylee McNamara (Watertown, Mass.) and Jenn Townsend (Weathersfield, Conn.) each scored goals in Nichols College's 3-2 overtime loss at Endicott College in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) field hockey action Saturday afternoon at North Field.

Junior Molly Melanson (Simsbury, Conn.) made 11 saves in goal for the Bison (1-6, 1-1 CCC), who led the Gulls 2-0 at halftime and finished the contest outshooting them 29-17. Junior Mackenzie Hurst (Gilford, N.H.) scored the winning goal for the Blue and Green off a penalty stroke three minutes into extra time.

Nichols opened the scoring at 18:00 when McNamara received a pass from classmate Avery Orszulak (Springfield, Mass.) in front of the net and slipped it past sophomore goalkeeper Rose Bradley (Pottstown, Pa.). Just over three minutes later, Townsend caught the ball of an interception from Bradley and banked it into the left corner to increase the lead to two. Nichols held a 12-5 edge in shots through the opening 35 minutes. 

In the second half, the Gulls stopped the transition play by Nichols and create some offensive pressure of their own forcing 11 shots. Endicott finally got on the board at 51:22 when Sawchuck dribbled her way through three defenders and lifted the ball high over Menalson's head and into the top left corner.

Nine minutes after Sawchuck cut down the lead to one, junior Kathryn Walker (Middlebury, Conn.) found herself on a breakaway opportunity. She dribbled the ball in from the left side and drilled a shot into the back of the net to tie the game at two.

Endicott controlled most of the three minutes of extra time. Sawchuck had a couple of opportunities one-on-one, but was shut down by the Bison defenders. On an offensive transition, Hurst found herself alone with two defenders and Melanson blocking her way to the goal. She dribbled in and took a shot that was stopped on the goal line by a defenders foot, which caused a penalty stoke. Hurst shot into the left corner at 73:05 ended the contest.

Bradley was relieved at halftime by senior Lizetta Solarik (Carmel, N.Y.), who recorded 12 saves to earn the win. Orszulak finished with a game-high 12 shots. Nichols held a 15-10 edge in penalty corners.

Both schools return to action on Tuesday as Nichols hosts Salve Regina while Endicott plays Roger Williams. Both contests begin at 7 p.m.

Contributions from Endicott Sports Information