Box Score

DUDLEY, Mass. – Senior Kaylee McNamara (Watertown, Mass.) scored a pair of goals and classmate Avery Orszulak (Springfield, Mass.) added a goal and two assists as Nichols defeated Mount Ida 6-3 in non-conference field hockey action Saturday afternoon at Vendetti Field.

Junior Colleen Guthrie (Hamden, Conn.) potted her first collegiate goal as the Bison (1-2) outshot the Mustangs 45-15 on the afternoon. Seniors Jenn Townsend (Wethersfield, Conn.) and Lindsey Rappazzo (Mashpee, Mass.) also collected their first points of the season for Nichols.

Freshman Lexi Minicucci (Westfield, Mass.) scored her first two collegiate goals for the Mustangs (0-2) – the first of which was the first goal in the history of the program – while classmate Hayley Napier (Fairhaven, Mass.) notched her first collegiate goal.

Minicucci opened the scoring at 9:52, scoring in close to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. Townsend's first on a one-timer from Orszulak evened the score at one at 12:35 before Orszulak knocked in a rebound less than 10 minutes later to put the Bison in front 2-1. Guthrie's marker off a pass from senior Rachel Dalrymple (Belvidere, N.J.) made it 3-1 at the break.

The Mustangs climbed to within one when Napier redirected a pass from Minicucci at 44:21. Two goals from McNamara 48 seconds apart pushed the Nichols lead to 5-2 before Rapazzzo's one-timer found the back of the cage at 60:09. Minicucci's second goal off a rebound at 66:40 closed the scoring.

"I'm excited about our first win of the season," said Nichols head coach Kristan Mallet. "We made some adjustments with the forward line and Kaylee was able to produce some offense on the outside post. Avery did a good job getting it there all day long. We're still working out the kinks and have a lot of work to do. We just have to continue to plug along."

Senior Molly Melanson (Simsbury, Conn.) recorded nine saves to earn her first win of the season. Freshman Brenna Santos (East Falmouth, Mass.) stopped 18 Bison shots to fall to 0-2. Nichols held a 29-3 edge in penalty corners.

Nichols hosts Clark (MA) Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Mustangs play at Daniel Webster on Sept. 11 at 4 p.m.