Women's Lacrosse Falls to UNE, 21-16

BIDDEFORD, Maine – The University of New England women's lacrosse team posted a 21-16 victory over visiting Bridgewater State University on Friday afternoon at UNE Blue Bolt Field.

The Nor'easters improve to 2-1 on the young season, while the visiting Bears fall to 1-2.

Junior midfielder Casey Conwell (North Andover, Mass.) paced UNE with five goals and a pair of assists. Junior attack Keara Dwyer (Cazenovia, N.Y.) checked in with four goals and three helpers for the Nor'easters, while senior attack Anna Stowell (Sutton, N.H.), junior midfielder Molly Camelo (Melrose, Mass.) and freshman midfielder Emily Jussaume (Tyngsboro, Mass.) added three goals apiece.

Junior midfielder Emily Hiller (Marion, Mass.) scored a career-high seven goals and dished out a pair of assists to lead the way for Bridgewater State. Sophomore attack Katherine Tracy (Marion, Mass.) contributed three goals for the Bears, while sophomore attack Jacqueline DeLorey (Westwood, Mass.) added two goals and two assists.

In a game which took over 2 1/2 hours to play, UNE led 10-9 at the break as the first half featured five ties and neither team led by more than two goals. Conwell found the back of the net three times in the opening stanza for the Nor'easters, while Stowell and Camelo each potted a pair of goals. Hiller scored five first-half goals for the Bears and senior attack Victoria McDonough (Marshfield, Mass.) found the back of the net twice and added an assist.

Back-to-back tallies by DeLorey and Hiller to open the second half gave Bridgewater State an 11-10 lead. UNE answered with a 6-1 run to pull ahead, 16-12, with 13:51 left to play. Five different players scored for the Nor'easters during the spurt including free position strikes from Stowell, Conwell and sophomore attack Nicole Corriveau (Colchester, Vt.).

Goals by junior midfielder Kelsi Brennan (Dedham, Mass.) and senior attack Hayley White (Dracut, Mass.) just 31 seconds apart pulled the visitors to within two (16-14) with 12:46 showing on the scoreboard. The Bears had multiple chances to close the gap over the next five-plus minutes, but were unable to capitalize. UNE then reeled off three straight markers, including two by Dwyer, to take a 19-14 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the contest. The teams exchanged two goals apiece in the final two minutes as the Nor'easters came away with the 21-16 victory.

UNE finished with a 48-31 shot advantage for the game as well as a 27-11 edge in draw controls. Camelo led all players with 11 controlled draws, while Conwell recorded ten. Brennan and McDonough paced BSU with three draws each.

Freshman netminder Madison Bruzzese (Reading, Mass.) turned aside nine shots to register her second win of the season between the pipes for the Nor'easters. Senior goalkeeper Hayler Barner (Westwood, Mass.) made a season-high 17 saves for the Bears. Barner (374 career saves) moved into fifth place on the Bears' all-time saves list.

Bridgewater State heads to Bayamon, Puerto Rico next week for a pair of games. The Bears will take on Shenandoah University on Tuesday, March 10th (7:00 AM) and Susquehanna University on Wednesday, March 11th (9:00 AM). The Nor'easters entertain Colby College on Tuesday afternoon at 4:30.

Notes: Hiller recorded her 100th career point as she now has 64 goals and 42 assists (106 pts.) in three seasons with the Bears.