BOSTON, Mass. – Senior
Grace Murphy (Montclair, Va.) and freshman
Lindsay O'Connell (Danvers, Mass.) each scored four goals as the Nichols College women's lacrosse team defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology, 14-10, in a Commonwealth Coast Conference contest Wednesday afternoon at Sweeney Field.
Senior
Erica Antonison (Albertson, N.Y.) chipped in with a pair of goals while senior
Alyssa Bufis (Linden, N.J.) added a goal and an assist for the Bison, who moved to 3-7 with the win (2-3 CCC). Sophomore
Brooke Marion (South Hadley, Mass.) recorded a goal and two helpers.
Sophomore Molly Dufresne (Plaistow, N.H.) paced the Leopards (3-6, 0-5 CCC) with three goals while senior Jessica Houghton (Billerica, Mass.) and sophomore Brandie Holland (Lynn, Mass.) each struck twice.
The Bison raced out to a 3-0 lead behind goals from O'Connell, Antonison, and Marion. Dufresne scored the first Leopards goal off a free position shot at 20:04. The Bison responded with three more – including a pair from O'Connell – to lead up a 6-1 lead.
Sophomore Amanda Dexter (Harvard, Mass.) then scored her seventh of the year to give Wentworth its second score of the game. Murphy scored at 12:36 to make it 7-2 before markers from junior Pam Mudge (Hooksett, N.H.) and Dufresne make it 7-4. Bufis potted her second to close the first-half scoring and give Nichols an 8-4 lead.
Sophomore Brandie Holland (Lynn, Mass.) scored the first goal of the second half to bring Wentworth to within three. Murphy put up her third goal to make it 9-5 with 26:41 left. Houghton scored at 22:00 on a free position shot to give Wentworth its sixth goal. Nichols then received goals from Bufis, O'Connell, and junior
Meghan Dombkowski (Sagaponack, N.Y.) to move in front 12-6 with 19:08 left. Senior Alexandrea Banks (Ellington, Conn.) scored her 10th goal of the year at 17:44 to make it 12-7.
The Bison led by as many as six with 6:16 left, however late goals from Dufresne and Houghton 1:19 apart brought the scoring to a conclusion.
Murphy also added an assist, scooped up seven ground balls, and caused four turnovers for Nichols. Bufis caused three turnovers. Wentworth senior Beverly Farris (Palmer, Mass.) had six ground balls while classmate Alexandrea Banks (Ellington, Conn.) caused five turnovers.
Sophomore
Katherine Cotton (Kennebunk, Maine) made six saves for the Bison. Senior Robyn Pacini (Stoneham, Mass.) made seven stops for the WIT. Each team recorded 24 shots. Nichols won 19 of the 26 draw controls.
The Bison play at Mount Ida tomorrow afternoon while Wentworth heads to Colby-Sawyer.
Contributions from Wentworth sports information
