DUDLEY, Mass. – The Nichols College women's lacrosse team fell to Bard College 9-8 in overtime in non-conference action Thursday afternoon at Vendetti Field.
 
The Bison led 5-4 at the half, however, freshman Melissa Rosenthal (Clifton Park, N.Y.) potted a pair of goals in the final nine minutes of regulation to force overtime before assisting on the overtime-winner by sophomore Nicole Ellin (Franklin, Mass.).
 
Junior captain Lindsay O'Connell (Danvers, Mass.) produced a game-high four goals while junior Melissa LaFleur (Chicopee, Mass.) scored a goal and assisted on another in the Bison's first overtime loss since April 2011 (Salve Regina).
 
The Bison also saw goals from senior captain Brooke Marion (South Hadley, Mass.), sophomore Kirsten Sullivan (Arlington, Mass.), and freshman Miranda Smith (Methuen, Mass.) and junior Allison Bench (Windham, N.H.) assisted on two goals.
 
Rosenthal finished with a game-high five points (2-3-5) while Ellin added four points (3-1-4) and last week's Liberty League Rookie of the Week, freshman Caleigh DeCaprio (Islip, N.Y.), had a pair of goals.
 
Nichols led the entire game – Bard did not receive the lead until the overtime goal by Ellin to win it – however, the largest lead came in the first half with the Bison up 5-3.
 
Freshman Emily Eagan (Hingham, Mass.) took the loss after stopping 11 shots. The win went to junior Kaylynn Tran (New Orleans, La.) who made seven saves.
 
All-Time Series
This marked the first match between the Bison and Raptors all-time with Bard now leading the series at, 1-0.
 
Next Games
Bard (2-1) – Saturday, March 25 vs The Sage Colleges, 12:00 p.m.
Nichols (1-5) – Saturday, March 25 vs UNE, 4:00 p.m.