BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting Western New England University women's lacrosse team overcame a five-goal second half deficit as the Golden Bears posted an 8-7 victory over Bridgewater State University on Thursday night at Swenson Field.
The Golden Bears improve to 3-6 on the season as they snapped a five-game losing streak. The host Bears slip to 4-5 overall with the setback.
Freshman midfielder Lindsey Phillips (East Longmeadow, Mass.) tallied three goals and an assist to lead the way for Western New England. Phillips also notched three draw controls. Junior attack Rachel Canning (Lincoln Park, N.J.) added two goals for the visitors while sophomore attack Kristen Breen (Ellington, Conn.) checked in with a goal and an assist off the bench.
Senior attack Melissa Renauld (Framingham, Mass.) paced the Bears with a game-high five points on three goals and two assists to go along with three draw controls. Freshman attack Victoria McDonough (Marshfield, Mass.) contributed a goal and an assist for the hosts.
The Bears led 6-2 at the break as Renauld tallied three goals and an assist over the first 30 minutes. Breen's goal with just two seconds remaining in the stanza snapped a 4-0 BSU run.
Junior midfielder Brooke Buckner (Foxboro, Mass.) found the back of the net just 46 seconds into the second half with Renauld picking up the assist as Bridgewater regained the five-goal cushion. The Bears, however, would not score again.
Western New England closed out the game with six unanswered goals to steal the win. Phillips potted the tying goal off the free position with 11:45 remaining in the contest, while Canning converted off a feed from Breen with 8:01 left to play to put the visitors up, 8-7.
Phillips scored all three of her goals during the game-changing second half run, while Canning found the back of the net twice.
The Bears had two quality chances to net the equalizer in the final minute, including a free position attempt with two seconds remaining, but were unable to convert.
Western England outshot Bridgewater State by a margin of 26-22 including a 15-8 advantage in the second half. The Golden Bears also held the edge in ground balls (14-12) and draw controls (8-7).
The Bears went 0-for-4 on the free position for the game and were held to just four shots on goal in the second half.
Junior Shannon McFadden (West Islip, N.Y.) turned aside eight shots to record her second win of the season between the pipes for Western New England.
BSU senior goaltender Allie Forman (Marblehead, Mass.) made 11 saves in the setback including the 500th of her career as she became just the second netminder in program history to reach the milestone.
The Bears open Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play on Saturday at home against MCLA. Game time is slated for 6:00 PM. The Golden Bears entertain Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) rival University of New England also on Saturday at one.
Notes: Forman now has 506 saves in her career which ranks second all-time at Bridgewater State….With her three goals, Renauld increased her career total to 195 as she moved into five place on the Bears' all-time goal scoring list. Renauld passed Courtney Lennon who netted 194 goals from 2008 to 2011.