BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Junior midfielder Shannon Manning (Framingham, MA) became the all-time leading goal scorer in Bridgewater State College women’s lacrosse history as the host Bears downed the Engineers of MIT, 15-13, this afternoon in Bridgewater.
Manning tallied three goals to go along with an assist as she now has 191 markers in her career as well as 302 points. She broke Laura Swart’s career record of 188 goals set back in 2003. Manning also became just the second player in BSC women’s lacrosse history to reach the 300-point milestone as she joined Paula Habel who notched a school-record 336 points from 2000 to 2003.
Junior attack Courtney Lennon (Medfield, MA) notched a game-best six points on four goals and two assists, while senior attack Katie DeMaio (Port Jefferson Station, NY) and junior midfielder Jenny Jones (Framingham, MA) added three goals apiece for the Bears (5-4). Manning also recorded game-high totals of five draw controls and seven ground balls to go along with a pair of caused turnovers.
Junior attack Erica Little (Sherborn, MA) paced the visiting Engineers (4-3) with three goals and two assists, while freshman midfielder Laura Wacker (Brookline, NY) found the back of the net four times. Junior midfielder Stephanie Leger (Vienna, VA) added three goals for MIT.
Senior netminder Meghan Griffin (Billerica, MA) made a season-high 17 saves to pick up her fifth win of the year. Sophomore goaltender Allison Hamilos (Medfield, MA) turned aside ten shots for the Engineers.
MIT outshot Bridgewater by a margin of 35-30 and also held a 17-14 edge in draw controls.
The Engineers spotted the Bears an early 3-0 lead before scoring five of the next six goals to move ahead, 5-4. Bridgewater would answer with a pair of goals by Manning and junior midfielder Patricia Maloney (Walpole, MA) to end the half as BSC took a 6-5 advantage into the intermission. The Bears would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the contest.
BSC would outscore the Engineers 8-5 over the first twenty minutes of the second half with Manning, Lennon and DeMaio each scoring twice. The Bears would open up a 14-10 lead on a DeMaio goal off an assist from Lennon at the 11:03 mark of the final stanza. Bridgewater would not score again until the final seconds as MIT went on a 3-0 run with Little scoring twice and Wacker tallying a goal at the 4:59 mark to pull the Engineers to within one at 14-13.
Little had a chance to tie the game with 1:11 remaining but her shot sailed wide. Griffin then made a big save with 42 seconds left to play to preserve the win for the Bears. Jones scored with just seven seconds on the scoreboard off an assist from sophomore attack Kristin White (Pelham, MA) to put the finishing touches on the BSC victory.