SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (3/1/2025) – The Nichols College women's lacrosse team launched its 2025 season in style, defeating Mount Holyoke College, 15-9 on Saturday afternoon at the MHC Turf and Track Complex.
 
Nichols opens the season at 1-0, while Mount Holyoke falls to 1-1.
 
Emma Patton poured in four goals to lead Nichols on Saturday, joining Kristen Ruby and Gabriella Mandirola as a trio of Bison with hat trick performances against the Lyons. Hadley Houghton scooped six ground balls, alongside five draw controls and three caused turnovers, while Adison Whitty bolstered the defense with a game-high five caused turnovers. Houghton also notched a goal in the effort, which landed as the 200^th of her collegiate career.
 
Briar Slattery (1-0) earned the start in goal, making 14 saves for the win.

Mount Holyoke opened the scoring two and a half minutes into the game, but Nichols quickly answered with goals in 30-second increments to take a 2-1 lead, courtesy of Mandirola and Patton. A little over six minutes later, the Lyons added the equalizer to tie the score 2-2, only for Nichols to repeat with two unanswered goals, beginning with an unassisted Ruby goals and Mandirola's second of the afternoon, assisted by Houghton. Nichols would own a 4-3 edge after one, with the Lyons scoring once more before the horn.

The Bison attack continued to click in the second quarter, outscoring Mount Holyoke 4-1 in the period. All four of Nichols' goals came in succession, beginning with Houghton's milestone tally just over a minute in, unassisted. To follow, Makala Dube and Paige Alexander respectively added their first of the season, while Ruby capped off the run with her second of the day to make it an 8-3 game. Mount Holyoke then scored with 1:14 left in the half, but faced a sizeable 8-4 deficit at the intermission.

Mount Holyoke carved a chunk out of Nichols' lead early in the third period, scoring twice in 25 seconds to make it 8-6. However, the Bison responded with their own pair of strikes as Ruby completed the hat trick off a feed from Dube, followed by Patton's second of the game, unassisted, to restore Nichols four-goal lead at 10-6. Dube then found the back of the cage for her second goal of the game, scored a man-up, ahead of what would be Mandirola's own hat trick completing goal with 16 seconds left, sending Nichols into the final frame leading 12-7.

Mount Holyoke made one final push in the fourth quarter, but couldn't make up any ground as Nichols held a 3-2 scoring edge in the frame, adding two more goals from Patton in that stretch.

The Bison continue their four-game road trip with a trip to Massachusetts Maritime Academy (0-0) on Wednesday, March 5^th. Opening draw is set for 3:00 PM at Clean Harbors Stadium.