NASHUA, N.H. – The Nichols College women's lacrosse team defeated Rivier 18-7 in non-conference action Thursday evening at Raider Field.
 
Sophomore Kirsten Sullivan (Arlington, Mass.) and senior Brooke Marion (South Hadley, Mass.) each had season-highs of seven points while junior Mellissa LaFleur (Chicopee, Mass.) added three goals and three assists as the Bison match last year's win total with seven games remaining in the regular season.
 
The Raiders were led by freshman Alyssa Ciszek (Tyngsboro, Mass.) with a pair of goals while senior Jane Farrell (Wilmington, Mass.) and freshman Sally Kennedy (Billerica, Mass.) each scored a goal and assisted on another.
 
Seven different student-athletes scored goals for the Bison while four ended the game with hat tricks – including Sullivan, Marion, LaFleur, and junior captain Lindsay O'Connell (Danvers, Mass.).
 
The Bison led 12-6 at the break before scoring the first five goals to open the second half and push their lead to 11. Senior Olivia Morawski (Fairfield, Conn.) added a goal with just 4:35 remaining in the game to cap the scoring.
 
Freshman Emily Eagan (Hingham, Mass.) stopped nine shots in 49:21 of action on her way to her third win of the year. Freshman Molly Steen (Stevensville, Md.) made two saves over the final 10:39 in relief. Sophomore Courtney Laperriere (Keene, N.H.) made nine saves in the loss.
 
All-Time Series
This was only the second meeting all-time between the Bison and the Raiders and the first since 2010 – with the Bison having won both games in the series.
 
Next Games
Nichols (3-6) – Saturday, April 1 vs Curry, 11:00 a.m.
Rivier (1-6) – Saturday, April 1 vs Mount Ida, 1:00 p.m.