WENHAM, Mass. (3/29/2025) - Nichols women's lacrosse remained unbeaten with their eighth straight win Saturday, as they topped Conference of New England foe Gordon College, 17-7 on the road in at the Brigham Complex.
The Bison improve to 8-0 (2-0 CNE) overall, while Gordon slips to 1-8 (0-2 CNE).
The contest saw three Bison put up four-goal performances, including a career-best effort from freshman Cali Melo. Senior Hadley Houghton and freshman Sienna Reeves also had four-goal outings, while junior Emma Patton added a hat trick. Fellow junior Makala Dube and freshman Abigail Boggio rounded out the scoring with one goal apiece, with Boggio's lone goal landing as the first her collegiate career. Defensively for the Bison, senior McKenzie Muir led the way with five ground balls, five draw controls and three caused turnovers.
Junior Briar Slattery (8-0) played all 60 minutes in goal, making eight saves. The win, as the 18th of her collegiate career, makes her the program's all-time leader in career wins by a goalkeeper, surpassing previous record holder Keri Tremblay (17).
Gordon was the first on the board with a goal at 13:20 of the opening quarter, but the rest of the period belonged to the Bison as they poured in four unanswered goals to carry a 4-1 lead into the second. Two of the goals belonged to Houghton, with one on a free position shot, while Reeves and Dube each added their own unassisted tallies.
The second quarter was a more balanced affair, as each side scored three times. Emma Patton accounted for the first two Bison goals, which were divided up by two Gordon strikes, before Sienna Reeves scored her third of the afternoon at 5:52 of the period to put the Bison ahead, 7-3. Gordon would strike once more time before the expiration of the half, cutting Nichols' lead down to 7-4 through two.
The Bison hit the field in the second half with a surge of energy, piling on a 5-0 run across a seven-minute span to put the game out of reach, 12-4, featuring a pair of goals from Cali Melo. Gordon ended the hot streak at 5:29 with a goal to make it 12-5, but found themselves back in a eight-goal deficit as Melo cashed in for her third goal of the day at two minutes later, giving Nichols a 13-5 lead entering the final period.
Nichols went on to outscore the Fighting Scots 4-2 in the fourth, earning them the 17-7 victory on the road.
The Bison now switch their attention to hosting CNE's Endicott College at home on Tuesday. Their annual Morgan's Message game is set to start at 7 PM on Vendetti Field.
