BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Junior attack Elizabeth Ettridge (Marshfield, Mass.) scored a game-high five goals including the 100th of her career to lift the visiting Bridgewater State University women's lacrosse team to a 10-9 victory over the University of New England on Friday afternoon at the Big Blue Turf.
The Bears improve to 4-2 on the season with the win, while the host Nor'easters fall to 3-4.
Ettridge's milestone tally came 3:49 into the game as she scored off the free position to open the scoring.
In a tightly contested match-up, the score was tied at 9-9 with under five minutes left to play. Ettridge then buried the game-winner off an assist from sophomore attack Victoria McDonough (Marshfield, Mass.) with 3:40 remaining to give the Bears the dramatic victory.
UNE managed just one shot over the final 3 1/2 minutes as BSU sophomore goal keeper Hayley Barner (Westwood, Mass.) came up with a key save with 2:30 showing on the scoreboard to help seal the win.
Ettridge also added two ground balls, a game-high five draw controls and a caused turnover, while McDonough finished with three goals, two assists, three ground balls, three draws and a pair of caused turnovers. Sophomore attack Hayley White (Dracut, Mass.) checked in with a goal and an assist, while senior attack Gabby Reinold (Braintree, Mass.) also scored for the Bears.
Barner finished with six saves as she recorded her fourth win of the season. Junior defender Lisa Moynihan (Norwood, Mass.) paced the BSU defensive effort with four caused turnovers to go along with four ground balls and four draws.
Sophomore attack Anna Stowell (Sutton, N.H.) led the way for UNE with three goals and an assist, while freshman midfielder Molly Camelo (Melrose, Mass.) also found the back of the net three times. Freshman midfielder Casey Conwell (North Andover, Mass.) and freshman attack Keara Dwyer (Cazenovia, N.Y.) each finished with a goal and two assists.
Junior netminder Maritza Nary (Dover, N.H.) made nine saves in the setback for the Nor'easters.
The difference was never more than two goals the entire way. UNE led 2-1 in the 1st period before three in-a-row by the Bears established a two-goal cushion (4-2). It was 5-3 with 1:56 on the clock prior to halftime, but Conwell struck just 12 seconds later off a feed from Stowell, and then Dwyer setup Camelo to even things (5-5) at the break.
Ettridge helped pull the Bears out of a one-goal deficit, pocketing the first two in a three-goal run during the initial portion of the second half to give BSU an 8-6 lead.
The Nor'easters answered with scores by Dwyer and Camelo, but Reinold put BSU back on top at 9-8 with 7:13 left. In spite of being a player down, UNE drew back level at the 5:21 mark on a goal by Stowell. That would set the stage for Ettridge's late game heroics.
UNE held a slight 22-21 shot advantage, while Bridgewater finished with a 12-9 edge in draw controls. The Bears were 2-for-5 on free position attempts, while the Nor'easters went 0-for-3.
In upcoming action, the Bears entertain UMass Dartmouth on Monday night at seven, while the Nor'easters are scheduled to open up Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action on Tuesday (7 p.m.) at Endicott College.