BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - The Bridgewater State College Bears cruised to a 23-1 victory over visiting Elms College in New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance (NEWLA) action this afternoon from BSC's Swenson Field in Bridgewater.
Bridgewater State has now won four straight games as they improve to 4-3 overall. It was the Bears' first conference game of the season as they begin defense of their 2008 NEWLA title with the convincing win. Elms falls to 0-5 on the season and 0-2 in the NEWLA.
Juniors Katie DeMaio (Port Jefferson Station, NY) and Shannon Manning (Framingham, MA) along with sophomore Jenny Jones (Framingham, MA) combined for 12 goals and seven assists. DeMaio and Jones scored five of the first eight goals of the game as the Bears jumped out to an 8-0 lead just over ten minutes into the contest.
Freshman Emily Walsh (Hadley, MA) got the Blazers on the board at the 18:25 mark of the first half as she scored off the rebound of her own free position attempt. For Walsh it marked her first collegiate goal.
Bridgewater tallied the final six goals of the opening stanza to take a 14-1 advantage into the intermission. The Bears continued their dominance in the second half outscoring the Blazers by a margin of 9-0.
BSC held a 33-4 edge in shots as well as a 17-7 advantage in draws controlled. Elms did not take a shot in the second half.
DeMaio finished with six goals and an assists, while Manning notched a pair of goals to go along with four assists, five ground balls and five caused turnovers. Jones added four goals and two assists, while sophomore Courtney Lennon (Medfield, MA) chipped in with a goal and three assists.
Junior Meghan Griffin (Billerica, MA) picked up the win in goal for the Bears as she played the first 30 minutes and turned aside two shots. Griffin played the field in the second half and tallied a goal and an assist.
Thirteen different players scored for the Bears and 16 had at least one point. Sophomores Kiley Brown (Ashby, MA) and Justine Fox (Harwich, MA) along with freshmen Jennifer Natale (Hanover, MA) and Kiera Garvey (Chelmsford, MA) each recorded their first goals of the season.
Freshman Emily McInerney (Glastonbury, CT) made seven saves in goal for the Blazers as she faced a total of 33 shots.
Bridgewater will travel to Worcester State College next Tuesday night for a seven o'clock NEWLA match with the Lancers. Elms hosts Lasell College on Wednesday night at 7.