BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Freshman attack Victoria McDonough (Marshfield, Mass.) tallied three goals and four assists to lead the Bridgewater State University women's lacrosse team to a 10-6 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over visiting Framingham State University on Senior Day at Swenson Field on Saturday afternoon.
BSU sophomore attack Elizabeth Ettridge (Marshfield, Mass.) added a team-best four goals for the Bears who improve to 6-6 on the season and 2-0 in the MASCAC.
Freshman midfielder Grace Gamache (Dartmouth, Mass.) paced the Rams (6-4, 1-1 MASCAC) with four goals.
Bridgewater got off to a fast start as the Bears notched the first six goals of the game and led 6-0 just 17 minutes into the contest. Ettridge potted three of the Bear's first six goals, while McDonough had a hand in five (2G, 3A) of them.
After Gamache got the Rams on the board at the 12:29 mark, back-to-back tallies from senior midfielder Alex Lynch (Plainville, Mass.) and McDonough gave the Bears' their biggest lead of the game at 8-1.
Framingham reeled off three straight goals to cut the deficit to 8-4. Gamache scored twice while freshman midfielder Nicole Pacheco (Woburn, Mass.) capped off the run with four minutes remaining in the first half.
Senior attack Melissa Renauld (Framingham, Mass.) closed out the scoring in the opening stanza with 1:33 left to play to put the Bears up by five (9-4). The goal marked Renauld's team-leading 34th of the season.
The first 11 minutes of the second half were scoreless. Bridgewater held a 7-1 shot advantage during that span, but FSU sophomore netminder Indigo Fox Tree-McGrath (Bedford, Mass.) made five saves to keep the game close.
The Rams responded with back-to-back goals from freshman midfielder Audrey Duhaime (Belchertown, Mass.) and Gamache to close the gap to 9-6 with 17:48 left to play. Framingham, however, would not score again.
After Ettridge extended the Bears' lead to 10-6 at the 15:15 mark, BSU senior goaltender Allie Forman (Marblehead, Mass.) made five key saves during a three minute stretch to keep the Bears' lead at four.
The Rams would manage just two shots (both off frame) over the final 11 minutes as the Bears hung on for the win.
Forman finished with eight saves on the afternoon as she recorded her fifth win of the season and 35th of her career. Tree-McGrath turned aside 13 shots in the setback.
Bridgewater held a 30-17 shot advantage as well as a slight 17-15 edge in ground balls. Draw controls were 10-7 in favor of the Rams.
Prior to the game, the Bears honored seniors Lynch, Renauld, Forman, Taylor Brown (Commack, N.Y.), Emily Langlois (Agawam, Mass.) and Gaelin Reall (Providence, R.I.)
The Bears are off until next Saturday (Apr. 15) when they travel to Worcester State University for a noontime MASCAC game with the Lancers. The Rams head to Curry College on Wednesday (Apr. 12) afternoon for a non-conference affair with the Colonels starting at four.