BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University women's lacrosse team used a strong defensive effort to down visiting University of New England, 8-5, on Tuesday evening at Swenson Field.
The Bears remain unbeaten on the season as they improve to 7-0. UNE falls to 3-6 overall.
Bridgewater limited the visiting Nor'easters to 15 shots including just three in the second half. The Bears did not allow a goal over the final 30 minutes.
Bridgewater led 2-1 with 18 minutes remaining in the first half on a pair of goals from senior attack Jill Caramello (Duxbury, Mass.). UNE sophomore attack Gina Newsome (Danbury, Conn.) responded with a natural hat trick, with her third goal coming with 5:24 left in the opening stanza, to give the Nor'easters a 4-2 advantage.
Just 22 seconds later, junior midfielder Taylor Clancy (Braintree, Mass.) started a 3-0 BSU run to help the Bears reclaim the lead. Senior midfielder Shelby Farland (Fiskdale, Mass.) tied the game up, and junior midfielder Melanie Appleman (Hyannis, Mass.) put Bridgewater on top, 5-4, off an assist from sophomore attack Riley Cachelin (Westwood, Mass.).
The Bears looked poised to take the lead into the intermission, but UNE sophomore attack Macki Hill (York Beach, Maine) scored with just 17 seconds left on the clock as the teams headed to the break with the game knotted at 5-5.
The score remained tied until Cachelin found the back of the net off a nice feed from Caramello at the 19:53 mark of the second half. The goal came 34 seconds after the Nor'easter picked up their third of five yellow cards on the evening.
Just over two minutes later, freshman midfielder Lauren Geary (Hull, Mass.) gave BSU a 7-5 lead with freshman attack Alexis Hadcock (East Lyme, Conn.) setting up the scoring strike. Clancy capped of the scoring 48 seconds later off an assist from Farland.
BSU freshman netminder Chandler Ross (Wrentham, Mass.) picked up her third straight win between the pipes. Ross made seven saves on the evening with five of those coming in the first half.
UNE rookie goaltender Courtney Kendall (Waltham, Mass.) turned aside 12 shots in the loss for the Nor'easters.
The Bears held a 27-15 shot advantage for the game including a 9-3 edge over the final 30 minutes. Bridgewater also held a 10-5 advantage in draw controls with Geary leading the way with a game-high eight. Geary, who also added seven ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers, ranks in the top five in all of Division III in draw controls per game (8.86).
Caramello paced Bridgewater offensively with two goal and an assist to go along with four ground balls, while Clancy finished with a pair of goals and five ground balls. Senior defender Olivia Galvin (Mashpee, Mass.) led all players with three caused turnovers while also recording three ground balls.
Newsome finished with three goals and two assists for UNE, while Hill notched a goal and two assist. Sophomore midfielder Rachel Schwaner (Holderness, N.H.) chipped in with a goal and an assist for the Nor'easters. Junior defender Gina Iannazzi (Methuen, Mass.) registered six ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.
In upcoming action, the Bears entertain non-conference foe Plymouth State University on Thursday evening at six. UNE travels to Nichols College on Saturday for a noontime Commonwealth Coast Conference matchup with the Bison.