BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. (3/5/2025) – The Nichols College women's lacrosse team outscored host Massachusetts Maritime Academy 8-0 in the second half Wednesday night, en route to an impressive 16-3 victory in non-conference play at Clean Harbors Stadium. 

The Bison are now 2-0 to start the season, while the Buccaneers move to 1-1.

Senior midfielder Hadley Houghton filled the stat sheet for the Bison, scoring a game-high eight goals with two assists, six ground balls, six caused turnovers and 10 draw controls. Freshman Sienna Reeves notched six points in the win, including both her first collegiate goal and hat trick, while Emma Patton and Kristen Ruby each contributed two goals and two ground balls apiece. Freshman Cali Melo rounded out the scoring, additionally notching her first collegiate goal. The Bison limited the Buccaneers' possessions, winning 17-of-23 draws on the night, and out-shot the hosts by a 31-12 margin.

Junior netminder Briar Slattery (2-0) made seven saves in the win, logging the full 60 minutes.

The first quarter was somewhat of a defensive battle between the two teams, with the score deadlocking at 2-2 after 15 minutes of play. Houghton accounted for both of Nichols' goals in the period, with her second finding the back of the net off an assist from Paige Alexander.

The Buccaneers scored the go-ahead goal 1:41 into the second quarter, but found their lead to be short lived as Nichols rattled off six straight, including three more from Houghton. Patton also added a pair during the run, while Reeves tossed in her first collegiate goal to help Nichols to a comfortable 8-3 lead at halftime.

Nichols didn't lose a step out of the break, as they continued widen their lead to 12-3 with four more strikes in the third quarter. Houghton added her sixth and seventh goals of the night at 14:09 and 11:59 respectively, moments ahead of Reeves notching her second goal on a free-position attempt to make it 11-3 Bison with 8:29 left. Ruby then added a man-up goal just over 30-seconds later, with Makala Dube notching an assist on the play.

The Bison continued to pile on goals in the fourth quarter, with Reeves completing her hat trick 56-seconds in. Cali Melo was also in the mix of scorers, adding her collegiate first, unassisted, with 12:15 to play. Ruby and Houghton finished off the scoring for the Bison, completing Nichols' eventual 16-3 win.  

The Bison will have the weekend off before returning to road action on Monday, March 10^th at Vermont State University (VTSU) Castleton (1-2). Game time is set for 4:00 PM at Dave Wolk Stadium.