DUDLEY, Mass. (4/25/2025) – The Nichols College women's lacrosse team earned the No. 4 seed in the 2025 Conference of New England postseason, and will play host to No. 5 seed University of New England in the Tournament First Round on Saturday (4/26) at 1:00 PM.
It is the program's sixth trip to the conference tournament, and fourth in the last five seasons. As such, Nichols is in pursuit of its first ever postseason victory as a program, with their No. 4 position being the highest seeding in program history.
THE GAMEPLAN
- No. 4 Nichols College (12-3-1, 5-3-1 CNE) vs No. 5 University of New England (7-8-1, 5-3-1 CNE)
- Dudley, Massachusetts | Vendetti Field
- Saturday, April 26 | 1:00 PM
Live Stats |
Live Video
How The Bison Got Here: The Bison roll into the tournament first round after defeating Western New England University, 10-8 in their regular season finale this past Wednesday, the first win over the Golden Bears in program history. Throughout the season, the Bison pieced together a 12-3-1 overall record, including a 5-3-1 mark against conference opponents. Their 12 victories this season ties their single-season program record, which was set last year.
Throughout the campaign, the Bison attack has played a crucial role in their overall success, providing 15 or more goals in nine of their contests while outscoring opponents by a 211-161 margin throughout the campaign. The defense has also left its mark this year, with the Bison ranking first amongst all CNE teams in caused turnovers (194).
The Opponent: The Nor'easters make their way down from Biddeford, Maine following a lopsided 20-3 win over Curry College in their respective regular season finale, which was their highest single-game goal total this season. In turn, UNE has also put up 15 or more goals in five games this season.
The two teams last met back on April 5
th, where the contest ended in a 10-10 tie. This year's opening round is a near exact repeat of last season's quarterfinal, where the Nor'easters narrowly edged the Bison by a final score of 11-10 in regulation at Blue Bolt Field.
All time, the Bison hold a 2-14-1 record against UNE, with both wins coming at home.
Who to Watch: Senior captain
Hadley Houghton led the Bison in every statistical category this season, scoring 81 points on 59 goals and 22 assists, including four game winners and 24 free position goals. She has also compiled a stat line of 99 draw controls, 61 ground balls and 39 caused turnovers.
Pitching in defensively is classmate defender
McKenzie Muir, who's 37 caused turnovers sits as the second highest total on the Bison, along with 48 ground balls and 63 draw controls of her own.
On the offensive side, junior
Emma Patton comes in second on the team with 49 points on the season behind 35 goals and 14 assists. Freshman
Sienna Reeves has also provided some depth in that area, totaling 35 goals in her first season on The Hill.
2025 CNE WOMEN'S LACROSSE TOURNAMENT
First Round – Saturday, April 26th
Game 1: No. 6 Western New England at No. 3 University of Hartford – 12:00 PM
Game 2: No. 5 University of New England at No. 4 Nichols College – 1:00 PM
Semifinals – Wednesday, April 30th
Game 3 #4 Seed/ #5 Seed winner at No. 1 Endicott - 4:00pm or 7:00pm
Game 4: #3 Seed/ #6 Seed winner at #2 RWU - 4:00pm
Championship - Saturday, March 8
Game 5: Winner of Game 3 vs Winner of Game 4 – Hosted by Highest Remaining Seed
