BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University women's lacrosse team held off visiting Wellesley College, 11-8, on Wednesday night at Swenson Field.
The Bears even their record at 4-4 on the season, while the visiting Blue fall to 2-3. The two teams were meeting for the first time since 2010.
Freshman attack Nina Liquori (Agawam, Mass.) tallied three goals and an assist to lead the way for Bridgewater State. Senior midfielder Delaney Langton (Scituate, R.I.) added two goals and a helper for the Bears, while graduate midfielder Kelsey Brennan (Dedham, Mass.) checked in with a pair of goals.
Senior midfielder Hayley Carron (Hopedale, Mass.), sophomore defender Katherine Wrona (Belchertown, Mass.), junior midfielder Katie O'Brien (Pembroke, Mass.) and freshman midfielder Hannah Bowlby (Dalton, Mass.) also scored for Bridgewater State. Bowlby's goal marked the first of her collegiate career.
Senior attack Eleanor Mallet (Berwick, Maine) paced the Blue with a game-high five goals, while classmate Izzy Burdick (Scarborough, Maine) dished out a game-best four assists.
The Bears, who never trailed in the game, led 4-3 at the break and 7-5 heading into the fourth quarter.
Back-to-back tallies by Liquori and O'Brien to open the final period extended the BSU lead to 9-5. O'Brien's goal marked the only free position strike of the contest. Mallett pulled the Blue to within three with an unassisted goal at the 9:10 mark before Brennan responded for the hosts off an assist from senior attack Jacqueline DeLorey (Westwood, Mass.) with 6:38 left to play.
Mallett potted her fifth goal of the game with 4:02 showing on the scoreboard to again close the gap to three at 10-7. Langton, however, answered for the Bears just 17 seconds later to seal the win.
The Bears held a 31-19 shot advantage for the game as well as a slight 22-21 edge in ground balls, while draw controls were 12-11 in favor of Wellesley. The Blue converted just 14 of 23 clear attempts.
Brennan and Langton notched four draw controls apiece for Bridgewater State, while senior defender Taylor Carroll (Carver, Mass.) corralled four ground balls and Liquori registered three caused turnovers.
Junior Olivia Kerrigan (Braintree, Mass.) and freshman Brooke La Torra (Oak Park, Calif.) combined to make seven saves between the pipes for Bridgewater State.
Senior goalkeeper Lorna Li (Taunton, Mass.) turned aside 14 shots in the setback for Wellesley. Li also finished with a game-high five ground balls.
The Bears are off until Saturday, April 2nd (7:00 PM) when they open Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) on the road at Westfield State University. The Blue entertain New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rival Wheaton College on Saturday at noon.