BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Wheaton College women's lacrosse team potted the first four goals of the game and never looked back as the visiting Lyons downed Bridgewater State University, 12-4, this evening at Swenson Field in Bridgewater.
The Lyons have won three of their last four games as they improve to 5-3 on the season. The host Bears fall to 2-5 overall.
Seven different players scored for Wheaton while nine recorded at least one point. Senior attack Hailey Colburn (Concord, N.H.) paced the Lyons with three goals and two assists, and sophomore attack Leila Mills (Brunswick, Maine) added three goals and a helper.
Junior midfielder Kristen Palmer (East Dorset, Vt.) turned in a solid game at both ends of the field for the visitors as she tallied a goal and an assist to go along with six ground balls, three caused turnovers and a draw control.
Senior midfielder Stephanie Lannon (Swampscott, Mass.), sophomore attack Melanie Appleman (Hyannis, Mass.), sophomore midfielder Taylor Clancy (Braintree, Mass.) and freshman attack Riley Cachelin (Westwood, Mass.) tallied a goal apiece for the Bears. Junior attack Sammi Salverio (Hanson, Mass.) led all players with four controlled draws and recorded a team-best five ground balls.
Freshman netminder Katy Ananian (Belmont, Mass.) turned aside four shots to register her fourth win of the season for the Lyons. BSU sophomore Victoria Moore (Duxbury, Mass.) made nine saves in the loss for the Bears.
Wheaton held a 29-11 edge in shots for the game.
The Lyons jumped out to a 4-0 lead on the strength of a pair of goals from Mills. After Clancy cut the deficit to 4-1 with 16:05 remaining in the opening stanza, Wheaton responded with a 4-0 run to take a commanding 8-1 advantage. Appleman closed out the scoring in the half to make it an 8-2 game at the intermission
Colburn scored two of her three goals over the final 30 minutes as the Lyons maintained at least a six-goal advantage the rest of the way.
In upcoming action, the Bears travel to New England Women's Lacrosse Alliance (NEWLA) foe Fitchburg State on Saturday to take on Falcons at 11 AM. Wheaton entertains New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rival Smith College on Saturday afternoon at one.