SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- Led by freshman midfielder Kristin White (Pelham, MA) and sophomore attacker Courtney Lennon (Medfield, MA), the Bridgewater State College women's lacrosse team picked up an 18-12 victory over non-conference foe Mount Holyoke College this afternoon at the Mount Holyoke Turf Field.
The duo erupted for five goals apiece, as the Bears earned their third straight win over the Lyons.
White also tacked on a pair of assists for Bridgewater State, which finished with a 34-29 edge in the shot column. Junior midfielder Shannon Manning (Framingham, MA) chipped in with four goals, one assist and a game best nine ground balls. Meanwhile, sophomore attacker Jenny Jones (Framingham, MA) found the net twice and added a helper. Manning now has 2005 points in her career as she moved past Ann Silvia (204 pts) into third place on the Bears' all-time scoring list.
Mount Holyoke was paced by senior midfielder Ava Gottschall (Amherst, MA), who tallied four goals. Sophomore attacker Clara Raugei (Alpharetta, GA) and junior midfielder Peggy Wefald (Granger, IN) added three goals apiece. It was Raugei's fifth consecutive hat trick. The Lyons fell despite an 18-13 draw control advantage. Wefald collected four draw controls for the hosts.
Bridgewater State jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the early going, but Mount Holyoke scored the next two goals to knot things up at 2-2 at the 23:13 mark. The Bears exploded for five straight goals over a six minute span to take control of the contest. White found the net twice during the rally, which put the guests in front 8-3 with 13:19 remaining in the first half. Bridgewater State took an 11-4 edge into the intermission. White and Lennon both registered hat tricks before the break.
The Bears cushion ballooned to 15-5 at the 19:59 mark of the second stanza, and they led 16-6 with 15:15 remaining in regulation. From there, Mount Holyoke outscored the visitors 6-2, but it was not enough. Gottschall, Wefald and Raugei each posted two goals in the second half for the Lyons. Lennon, White and Manning also found the net twice after the break for Bridgewater State.
Junior goalkeeper Meghan Griffin (Billerica, MA) made 11 saves en route to her third triumph of the season. Sophomore Missy Hartley (Berthoud, CO) also came up with 11 saves for the hosts.
Both squads will return to action on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Mount Holyoke (3-3) is scheduled to kick off its New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) schedule at Wheaton College. Meanwhile, Bridgewater State (3-3) will open up its New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance (NEWLA) slate versus Elms College. It will be the Bears home opener.