DUDLEY, Mass. (4/19/2025) – It was quite the sendoff for the Nichols College women's lacrosse program's seniors, as the Bison defeated conference foe Suffolk University, 17-7 on Senior Day at Vendetti Field Saturday afternoon.

The Bison improve to 11-3-1 (4-3-1 CNE) with the weekend win, while the Rams slide to 8-8 (3-5 CNE) overall with the loss.

Junior midfielder Emma Patton was the scoring leader for the Bison with a four-goal outing against the Rams, along with two draw controls. Senior attacker Kristen Ruby turned in a solid performance Saturday, notching four points on three goals and one assist, while fellow senior McKenzie Muir notched a hat trick with three draw controls, and two ground balls. Senior attacker Paige Alexander also tossed in a pair of goals herself, while junior defender Veronica Hill led the defensive effort with three caused turnovers, and three ground balls.

Senior Kaleigh Seal (1-0) stood tall in her first collegiate start as a goalkeeper, making nine total saves through 60-minutes of action, earning herself her first collegiate win.

Nichols used an 8-1 first quarter to build up a comfortable lead over the Rams. The scoring started with a 5-0 run to open the first quarter, which featured a pair of goals from Muir, before Suffolk broke silence at 5:59 of the period to make it 5-1. Patton, who also found the back of the net in the early 5-0 run, then added her second goal of the contest 26-seconds later, prior to back-to-back goals from Kristen Ruby to extend the lead to 7-1. Houghton cashed in for one more goal in the quarter with 44-seconds remaining, with the helper going to junior Makala Dube.

Nichols tacked on another three unanswered goals to begin the second quarter, including Patton and Ruby's third goals on the afternoon and a man-up strike from freshman Cali Melo to put up running time, 12-1. A pair of Suffolk goals slowed the game back down for a moment, but Nichols made sure they got the last word in, with Patton scoring a fourth time in the final minute to put the hosts up 13-3 at the break.

The two sides matched each other on the scoreboard in the third quarter, with both scoring three times. For the Bison, Muir completed her hat trick with her third goal of the game at 14:20 of the period, followed by freshman defender Macy Abrams second tally of the season at the 8:12 mark, with both goals coming unassisted. The final Bison goal belonged to senior Paige Alexander, her second of the day, on a man-up opportunity from Gabriella Mandirola.

Nichols struck one final time in the final quarter, courtesy of freshman Amelia Dyda's second goal of the season, also a man-up. Nichols went on to win the contest, 17-7.

The Bison will close out the 2025 regular season next Wednesday, April  23^rd as they travel to face Western New England University (5-10, 4-4 CNE) at 6:00 PM.