BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Plymouth State University women's lacrosse team withstood a furious second half comeback as the visiting Panthers held on for a 14-13 win over Bridgewater State University on Wednesday night at Swenson Field.
The Panthers improve to 7-3 on the season with the win, while the host Bears slip to 5-6 overall.
Senior attack Amy MacDonald (Hull, Mass.) paced the visitors with four goals and an assist, while classmate Shannon Connerty (Nashua, N.H.) registered two goals and a pair of helpers.
Junior midfielder Lauren Geary (Hull, Mass.) and junior attack Marissa Yowell (Ashland, Mass.) notched four goals apiece to lead the host Bears. Geary also added five ground balls and six draw controls.
Plymouth State tallied the final three goals of the opening stanza and the first four of the second half to take a commanding 13-5 lead with 21:18 remaining. MacDonald and sophomore midfielder Caroline Vonachen (Framingham, Mass.) each netted two goals during the 7-0 run.
Back-to-back tallies by Yowell less than two minutes apart started the Bears' comeback bid. Geary potted her third goal of the night and freshman defender Brooke Buckner (Foxboro, Mass.) scored shorthanded to cut the BSU deficit to 13-9 with 11:27 left to play.
Freshman attack Megan Tingley (Natick, Mass.) put an end to the four-goal surge as she found the back of the net on the player advantage to extend the Panther's lead to 14-9. That, however, would be the final strike of the evening for the visitors.
Sophomore attack Melissa Renauld (Framingham, Mass.) regained the momentum for the Bears with her second goal of the night at the 10:48 mark. Yowell and Geary notched back-to-back free position goals to make it a 14-12 game with 6:59 showing on the scoreboard.
The Panthers limited the BSU scoring chances over the next four minutes, but with 2:21 remaining Yowell corralled a ground ball off a Plymouth turnover and ripped a shot into the back of the net to make it a one-goal game.
Renauld won the ensuing draw which resulted in a quality scoring opportunity for Alex King (Weymouth, Mass.) but her shot sailed high. The Bears then turned the ball over and were unable to regain possession the rest of the way.
Vonachen and Tingley each finished with two goals and an assist to help the Panthers' cause, while sophomore attack Kaitlyn Wilder (Framingham, Mass.) added a pair of goals. Senior midfielder Molly Gleason (Haverhill, Mass.) led all players with seven draw controls to go along with a goal and an assist.
For the Bears, Renauld chipped in with two goals and King registered a goal and an assist.
Plymouth held a 20-13 advantage in ground balls, while Bridgewater had the edge in both shots (32-26) and draws (17-12).
Senior netminder Casey Curran (Framingham, Mass.) made nine saves to record her sixth win of the season between the pipes for the Panthers, while sophomore Allie Forman (Marblehead, Mass.) turned aside six shots in the setback for the Bears.
In upcoming action, Bridgewater State entertains Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference foe MCLA on Saturday afternoon at one. Plymouth State hosts Little East Conference rival Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday evening at 6:30.