Women's Lacrosse Holds Off UNE, 12-10

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University women's lacrosse team posted a 12-10 victory over the University of New England on a very cold and windy Wednesday evening at Swenson Field.

The Bears improve to 3-4 on the season with the win, while the Nor'easters fall to 3-4.

The game was played with temperatures in the mid 20s with winds of 15 to 20 miles per hour.

Junior attack Gabby Reinold (Braintree, Mass.) and sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Ettridge (Marshfield, Mass.) paced Bridgewater State with three goals apiece while Reinold also added an assist.

Freshman attack Anna Stowell (Sutton, N.H.) potted a game-high four goals for UNE, while Korinne Bohunsky (Eliot, Maine) scored two goals and dominated the draw with an impressive 11 draw controls.

The game was close throughout. Back-to-back goals by Reinold and junior midfielder Rebecca McGlone (Salem, Conn.) gave the Bears an 8-5 lead with 8:41 remaining in the first half. The Nor'easters, however, answered with strikes from senior attack Brook Kelleher (Exeter, N.H.) and senior midfielder Jocelyn Davee (Freeport, Maine) to close out the scoring in the opening stanza.

Seven different players scored for Bridgewater over the first 30 minutes with Ettridge leading the way with a pair of goals. Stowell paced UNE with three first half tallies.

UNE carried the momentum into the second half as goals by Bohunsky and Kelleher gave the visitors their first lead since the game's opening minutes. Kelleher's goal came on the free position with 18:48 remaining The Nor'easter defense held BSU scoreless for the first 12 minutes of the stanza.

The Bears quickly responded as Ettridge found the back of the net off an assist from senior attack Melissa Renauld (Framingham, Mass.) less than a minute later.

Ettridge's goal jumpstarted a quick 3-0 spurt. Reinold reclaimed the lead for the Bears at the 15:52 mark. She added another strike less than three minutes later to give the hosts an 11-9 advantage.

Stowell cut the deficit to one (11-10) with just under 12 minutes left to play with sophomore attack Nichole Carvalho (South Kingstown, R.I.) picking up the assist.

The score would remain that way until the 2:30 mark when McGlone took advantage of a key unforced turnover in front of the UNE net and beat the keeper one-on-one to make it a 12-10 game and put the finishing touches on the BSU win.

UNE held the edge in shots (31-20), draw controls (14-9) and ground balls (21-19). The Bears went 4-for-5 in free position attempts, while the Nor'easters finished just 2-for-8.

BSU senior netminder Allie Forman (Marblehead, Mass.) made 12 saves on the evening including a crucial stop with 1:43 remaining with the Bears nursing the two-goal lead.

Sophomore goaltender Maritza Nary (Dover, N.H.) turned aside five shots in the setback for the Nor'easters.

McGlone chipped in with a pair of goals for the Bears, while Renauld contributed a goal and a pair of helpers. BSU freshman attack Victoria McDonough (Marshfield, Mass.) also recorded a goal and two assists.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday afternoon. The Bears travel to UMass Dartmouth to take on the Corsairs at noon, while the Nor'easters head to Nichols College for a four o'clock Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) contest with the Bison.

Notes: With her 12 saves, Forman increased her career total to 483 as she moved into second place on the Bears' all-time list. Forman passed Meghan Griffin who recorded 476 saves from 2008 to 2010.