BIDDEFORD, Maine – The Nichols College women's lacrosse team fell on the road to the University of New England, 19-9, on Saturday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action in Biddeford, Maine.
 
The Bison drop to 4-10 overall and 0-7 in the CCC and wrap up the regular season on Tuesday afternoon when they host Endicott at 4:00 p.m. UNE improves to 6-8 overall and 3-4 in conference games with the win.
 
Senior Lindsay O'Connell scored four goals to go with a pair of groundballs and four draw controls to lead the Bison. Sophomore Miranda Smith added two goals and an assist, while senior Rachel Birmingham, junior Kirsten Sullivan and senior Mellissa LaFleur each scored a goal apiece.
 
Defensively, LaFleur led the team with four groundballs, two caused turnovers, and seven draw controls, while freshman Lizz McKinnon, senior Olivia Normandin, Smith, and Birmingham had two groundballs apiece. Sophomore Emily Eagan registered 16 saves for the Bison in the setback.
 
Freshman Keara Dwyer led the Nor'easters with four goals and two assists, while freshman Molly Camelo added four goals of her own in the win. Sophomore Anna Stowell also found the back of the net four times, while senior Jolena Lampron added three goals and an assist. Junior goalie Maritza Nary picked up the win while making one save.
 
The Nor'easters opened up a 2-0 lead early in the contest before O'Connell cut the deficit in half with her first goal of the day at the 22:24 mark of the first half. LaFleur converted a free-position shot to tie the game at 2-2 nearly a minute later, but a 5-0 run by the home team put UNE in front 7-2 with 13:53 remaining. Smith ended the run with a free-position goal, and O'Connell pulled the Bison to within 7-4 with her second tally of the game.
 
The two teams traded goals the rest of the period, but the Nor'easters would take an 11-6 advantage into halftime.
 
Out of the break, the Nor'easters scored eight-straight goals over the first 18 minutes of game play to take a 19-6 lead. Birmingham ended the run with a tally at the 10:13 mark, and O'Connell found the back of the net two minutes later to make it a 19-8 game. Sullivan would score the final goal of the contest with 1:37 remaining on a free-position goal to give the game its final score, 19-9.
 
The Nor'easters held a 43-17 advantage in shots in the game, while grabbing 34 groundballs to 19 for the Bison. Draw controls were nearly even with the home team picking up 16 to 14 for the Bison, but Nichols committed 24 turnovers against 16 miscues for UNE.
 
All-Time Series
Saturday marked the 19th meeting between the two teams and UNE leads the all-time series, 18-1.