BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's lacrosse team rallied from an early four-goal deficit to post a 16-12 victory over visiting Emmanuel College on Wednesday evening from rain-soaked Mazzaferro Field.
The Bears improve to 3-5 on the season as they snapped a three-game losing skid, while the Saints fall to 3-4. The two teams were meeting for the first time.
Camryn Gonsalves (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and Erin McIntyre (Tewksbury, Mass.) combined for 11 goals and four assists to lead the way for Bridgewater State. Gonsalves tallied five goals and three assists for a game-high eight points while McIntyre potted a game-best six goals and added an assist to go along with six draw controls and a pair of caused turnovers.
The Bears also received two goals apiece from Savannah Herrington (Kinnelon, N.J.) and Meredith Sylvia (South Dartmouth, Mass.).
Livia Fedele (Spencerport, N.Y.) paced Emmanuel with three goals and three assists.
Dejaliyah Srimouksavanh (Portsmouth, N.,H.), Madeline Wright (Mattapoisett, Mass.) and Avery Robillard (Rowley, Mass.) checked in with two goals apiece for the Saints. Wright and Srimouksavanh added seven and four draw controls, respectively.
Emmanuel led 5-1 after one quarter of play as five different Saints found the back of the net in the opening session.
Behind a four-goal effort from Gonsalves, the Bears rallied in the second period, outscoring the Saints, 7-3, as the two teams headed to the break with the scored knotted at 8-8.
An unassisted tally by Fedele to open the third quarter scoring was answered by a Herrington player-advantage goal at the 5:30 mark. The Saints regained the lead just 18 seconds later as Robillard found the back of the net off an assist from Fedele.
McIntyre then reeled off three straight goals, including the opening marker of the fourth quarter, to put the Bears on top, 12-10. Sylvia then converted off a Gonsalves pass to extend the BSU advantage to 13-10 with 12:47 left to play.
Back-to-back strikes by Fedele and Wright just 37 seconds apart closed the gap to 13-12, but McIntyre got one back for the Bears at the 8:01 mark to regain the two-goal cushion (14-12).
The score remained that way until the clock ticked under three minutes. Goals by McIntyre and Gonsalves over the final 2:41 put the finishing touches on the 16-12 victory.
Shots were even in the game at 26 apiece. The Saints held a 20-12 advantage in draw controls while the Beras held the edge in ground balls (20-16) and forced turnovers (21-16).
Bridgewater was a perfect 6-for-6 on free position attempts while Emmanuel converted 4 of 6.
BSU goaltender Laura Giovaniello (Walpole, Mass.) made eight saves to earn her third win of the season. Isabella Thomas (Miami, Fla.) turned aside six shots in the setback for the Saints.
In upcoming action, the Bears entertain the University of Southern Maine on Friday evening at six o'clock. The Saints host Norwich University in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matchup on Saturday afternoon at one.